ALBERT

Description: Recent work has shown that glaciers are a globally significant source of the micronutrient Fe to the ocean. Polar regions are particularly susceptible to climate change and have been subject to pronounced warming in the past few decades. In response to this warming, the volume of glacial meltwater runoff from Greenland has increased. This meltwater has a relatively high particulate and dissolved Fe content. Seasonal Fe limitation of marine ecosystems has been found in parts of the North Atlantic, so it has been proposed that increasing fluxes of Fe rich meltwater from Greenland to the North Atlantic could alleviate this Fe limitation and thereby increase marine primary production. However, here we use a synthesis of biogeochemical and physical oceanography studies to suggest that the physical circulation around Greenland does not favour direct export of dissolved or particulate Fe from inshore to offshore waters. The Fe budget in surface waters of the North Atlantic may therefore be insensitive to increasing meltwater fluxes from Greenland.

Description: While the geometries of diatom frustules have been investigated in detail, the processes leading to their formation—morphogenesis and biomineralization—are not well understood. The study of organic templates, which are suspected to be important for biosilicification of diatoms, have been mainly investigated on the basis of diverse demineralization techniques. In contrast to naturally occurring dissolution of diatom cell walls in natural habitats, all experiments in vitro were based on chemical reagents including HF- or alkali-based techniques with addition of some additives as presented in this chapter. Mostly, the amino acids (serine, threonine, hydrohyproline) diverse proteinaceous materials (frustulins, pleuralins, silaffins, silacidins, circulins) as well as polyamines have been proposed to regulate biosilicification in vivo in diatoms. In this chapter, we review the biochemical pathways and potential functions of these chemical compounds and their roles in the biomineralization process. In addition, we demonstrate the presence of chitin and discuss its potential as scaffolding as well as a template material in siliceous cell walls of diatoms. The current findings show that a complex network of different organic components is responsible for the biomineralization of diatoms. Since both the organic network and the precipitated silica are integrated in the material which forms the diatom frustule, the material properties must differ from that of pure silica. As the material properties are a crucial factor for the defensive performance of the frustule and thus their survival, it is likely that organic templates for silicification play a role both for the development process and for the improvement of the material properties of the finished shells.

Description: Pteropods are important organisms in high-latitude ecosystems, and they are expected to severely suffer from climate change in the near future. In this study, sedimentation patterns of two pteropod species, the polar Limacina helicina and the subarctic boreal L. retroversa, are presented. Time series data received by moored sediment traps at the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Observatory HAUSGARTEN in eastern Fram Strait were analyzed during the years 2008 to 2012. Results were derived from four different deployment depths (~200, 1,250, 2,400, and 2,550 m) at two different sites (79°N 04°20′E; 79°43′N 04°30′E). A species-specific sedimentation pattern was present at all depths and at both sites showing maximal flux rates during September/October for L. helicina and in November/December for L. retroversa. The polar L. helicina was outnumbered by L. retroversa (55–99 %) at both positions and at all depths supporting the recently observed trend toward the dominance of the subarctic boreal species. The largest decrease in pteropod abundance occurred within the mesopelagic zone (~200–1,250 m), indicating loss via microbial degradation and grazing. Pteropod carbonate (aragonite) amounted up to ~75 % of the total carbonate flux at 200 m and 2–13 % of the aragonite found in the shallow traps arrived at the deep sediment traps (~160 m above the seafloor), revealing the significance of pteropods in carbonate export at Fram Strait. Our results emphasize the relevance and the need for continuation of long-term studies to detect and trace changes in pteropod abundances and community composition and thus in the vertical transport of aragonite.

Description: Radiolaria are unicellular holoplanktonic protozoa with siliceous or strontium sulfate skeletons. Mainly studied by micropaleontologists because of their excellent fossil record, they are also key members of planktonic communities and play important roles in various oceanic ecosystems. This chapter presents an overview of the current knowledge on living Radiolaria (orders Acantharia, Collodaria, Nassellaria, Spumellaria and Taxopodia). Besides general considerations on Radiolaria as a whole, it focuses on the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of each radiolarian order. Finally this chapter provides insights on research perspectives to improve our knowledge of living radiolarians and their ecological role in marine ecosystems.

Description: Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is being explored on both economic and environmental grounds in many traditional aquaculture regions. To test a variety of suitable macroalgae species and management scenarios, a numerical model is developed to quantify the remediation of dissolved nutrients and production of macroalgae near a nutrient source. Differences in the morphological, physiological, and economic characteristics of different macroalgae species can provide flexibility when considering the cost and benefit of farming macroalgae. Results show that of the three species studied, Macrocystis pyrifera removed 75 % of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) input from a point source, while Porphyra umbilicalis and Ulva lactuca removed 5 %. Both M. pyrifera and P. umbilicalis have reduced bioremediation capacity at increasing flow rates. U. lactuca showed increased bioremediation potential as flow rate increased from low to moderate flows. Increasing the optical depth increased the bioremediation potential of M. pyrifera for moderate values of the light attenuation coefficient, whereas bioremediation was unaffected by optical depth for both U. lactuca and P. umbilicalis. Harvesting increased bioremediation capacity of all species by up to 25-fold dependent on the establishment phase and harvesting frequency. We conclude that the choice of macroalgae species greatly affects the success of IMTA and that both harvesting and farm arrangements can be used to greatly optimize bioremediation.

Description: Hydrothermal vents on mid-oceanic ridges are patchily distributed and host many taxa endemic to deep-sea chemosynthetic environments, whose dispersal may be constrained by geographical barriers. The aim of this study was to investigate the connectivity of three populations of the ‘scaly-foot gastropod’ (Chrysomallon squamiferum Chen et al., 2015), a species endemic to hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, amongst two vent fields on the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Longqi field, the first sampled vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Connectivity and population structure across the two mid-oceanic ridges were investigated using a 489-bp fragment of the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene. Phylogeographical approaches used include measures of genetic differentiation (FST), reconstruction of parsimony haplotype network, mismatch analyses and neutrality tests. Relative migrants per generation were estimated between the fields. Significant differentiation (FST = 0.28–0.29, P 〈 0.001) was revealed between the vent field in SWIR and the two in CIR. Signatures were detected indicating recent bottleneck events followed by demographic expansion in all populations. Estimates of relative number of migrants were relatively low between the SWIR and CIR, compared with values between the CIR vent fields. The present study is the first to investigate connectivity between hydrothermal vents across two mid-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean. The phylogeography revealed for C. squamiferum indicates low connectivity between SWIR and CIR vent populations, with implications for the future management of environmental impacts for seafloor mining at hydrothermal vents in the region, as proposed for Longqi.

Description: Mature organisms often have to trade reproductive opportunities against the need to survive, especially in species with exaggerated, sexually selected traits. Life history theory predicts that old males with low residual reproductive value (RRV) would accept greater risk for current reproduction than their younger counterparts. Accordingly, we tested the prediction that, under predation risk, old males of the rock shrimp Rhynchocinetes typus pair with females faster and for a longer time than young males do. We exposed young and old dominant males (in the final ontogenetic stage, called “robustus”) to a female in the absence and presence of a predator. As predicted, older robustus males modified their mating behavior when exposed to a predator. However, in contrast to the prediction, they delayed female seizure under predation risk, possibly to carefully assess the actual threat before initiating female guarding. Once they had established the mate-guarding position, old robustus males did not interrupt it until the end of female spawning and, in the presence of predators, even guarded the female significantly longer than in predator-free treatments. In contrast, younger robustus males did not delay female seizure but abandoned the female repeatedly when a predator was present, suggesting that they perceived and responded to the predation risk. Our results suggest that older robustus males have the experience to assess threats before engaging in risky behaviors that bolster their reproductive success. Although consistent with the theory that low RRV individuals should accept greater reproductive risk, we suggest that old individuals do not recklessly engage in risky behaviors but rather cautiously evaluate the threats before investing in a potentially terminal reproductive event.

Description: In Ammassalik, in southeast Greenland, downslope winds can reach hurricane intensity and represent a hazard for the local population and environment. They advect cold air down the ice sheet and over the Irminger Sea, where they drive large ocean–atmosphere heat fluxes over an important ocean convection region. Earlier studies have found them to be associated with a strong katabatic acceleration over the steep coastal slopes, flow convergence inside the valley of Ammassalik, and—in one instance—mountain wave breaking. Yet, for the general occurrence of strong downslope wind events, the importance of mesoscale processes is largely unknown. Here, two wind events—one weak and one strong—are simulated with the atmospheric Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with different model and topography resolutions, ranging from 1.67 to 60 km. For both events, but especially for the strong one, it is found that lower resolutions underestimate the wind speed because they misrepresent the steepness of the topography and do not account for the underlying wave dynamics. If a 5-km model instead of a 60-km model resolution in Ammassalik is used, the flow associated with the strong wind event is faster by up to 20 m s−1. The effects extend far downstream over the Irminger Sea, resulting in a diverging spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the heat fluxes. Local differences in the heat fluxes amount to 20%, with potential implications for ocean convection.

Description: The serine/threonine kinase glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is involved in a broad range of cellular processes including cell proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation. It is now also increasingly acknowledged as having a role to play in cognitive-related processes such as neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and neural cell survival. Cognitive impairment represents a major debilitating feature of many neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, mood disorders, schizophrenia and fragile X syndrome, as well as being a result of traumatic brain injury or cranial irradiation. Accordingly, GSK-3 has been identified as an important therapeutic target for cognitive impairment, and recent preclinical studies have yielded important evidence demonstrating that GSK-3 inhibitors may be useful therapeutic interventions for restoring cognitive function in some of these brain disorders. The current review summarises the role of GSK-3 as a regulator of cognitive-dependent functions, examines current preclinical and clinical evidence of the potential of GSK-3 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for cognitive impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders, and offers some insight into the current obstacles that are impeding the clinical use of selective GSK-3 inhibitors in the treatment of cognitive impairment.

Description: The European water framework directive and the marine strategy framework directive have the objective to establish at least ‘good’ ecological status in all European waters by 2015. Therefore a classification system has to be established in each European country, in order to assess their water bodies. For the German coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, a classification system for phytoplankton based on the abundance of Cyanophyceae and Chlorophyceae was already presented. This system has been successfully adapted in regions with low salinity levels (〈10 PSU). With this study, we present the results trying to develop a classification system for our German region of the Baltic Sea characterized by higher salinity (〉15 PSU). All present taxonomic groups, most common species and functional groups were tested. It could be shown that all tested correlations to nitrogen concentration as eutrophication descriptor are relatively week. Nevertheless, the biovolume of Cryptophyceae was found to be the most reliable phytoplankton composition indicator, which could serve as future assessment criterion. Furthermore, as proposed by some experts, the use of maximal dissolved winter nitrogen concentration as eutrophication descriptor might be an advantage over using the total nitrogen concentrations in summer.