ALBERT

Description: Three specimens of the rare giant squid (genus Architeuthis, 18 nominal species) are described from the waters around southern Africa. Consideration of their internal and external morphology, including beaks, radula, statocyst and statolith give no reason to suppose that the three specimens do not pertain to the same species. A standardized data collection form and a summary of existing morphometric data are presented for the first time and the morphology and systematics of the genus are discussed. The value of various systematic characters is examined and certain guidelines are proposed, with an appeal for a more scientific approach to Architeuthis studies. Features of the internal anatomy, including the female reproductive tract, are described and illustrated and the beak dimensions are used to evaluate existing regression formulae for beak and body parameters. The statocyst and statolith are described and illustrated in full, the statolith for the first time, and are compared with those of other squids. The value of recent data from trawl-caught specimens, as well as indirect evidence, is cited to replace speculation in discussions on distribution and habitat. Our specimens suggest that the waters off the south-western coast of Africa may be one of the natural habitats of Architeurhis, during both feeding and spawning periods of the life cycle.

Description: The living coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae has a unique position in world biodiversity which raises important questions about conservation and ethics. Some relevant details of coelacanth biology are summarized, including those obtained by direct observation from submersibles. The importance of the coelacanth for evolutionary theory and palaeontology is shown to be paralleled in cultural, literary and artistic areas of human heritage. Threats to the Comoran coelacanths from artisanal fishing are described and conservation measures discussed in relation to local customs and economies as well as the promotion of tourism to spread a new awareness and concern for coelacanths worldwide.

Description: New light is shed on Worthington's concept of the North Atlantic circulation, postulating the existence of two anticyclonic gyres. This concept, which seems to have been laid to rest in the last decade, has now been reinforced by the results of a simple linear Sverdrup circulation model yielding a band of westward transport all across the North Atlantic at about the Azores latitude. This narrow band is called the Azores Countercurrent (AzCC) and matches the position of westward flow required by Worthington's “northern gyre.” An anomaly in the meridional change of the wind-stress curl in the eastern North Atlantic has been identified as the driving mechanism. A comparison with observations shows that the AzCC is verified in many analyses of historical datasets and synoptic surveys. A lack of the AzCC in other analyses is probably due to missing meridional sections, strong smoothing, and the superimposed Ekman flow close to the sea surface directed to the southeast. The AzCC has not been verified in low-resolution general circulation models applying simplified wind-stress fields and large friction coefficients, but there is evidence for its existence in recent high-resolution models driven by realistic wind stresses. Based on these findings, a new pattern for the wind-driven upper ocean circulation of the midlatitude North Atlantic is presented.

Description: Benthoctopus piscatorum appears to be a multiple spawner. In the ovary of one specimen about 50 eggs were found at various stages of development.

Description: A sigma-coordinate, primitive equation ocean circulation model is used to explore the problem of the remnant generation of trapped waves about a tall, circular, isolated seamount by an incident oscillatory barotropic current. The numerical solutions are used to extend prior studies into the fully nonlinear regime, and in particular to quantify and interpret the occurrence of residual circulation. Specific attention is also devoted to the dependence of the resonance and rectification mechanisms on stratification, forcing frequency, and choice of subgrid-scale viscous closure. Resonantly generated trapped waves of significant amplitude are found to occur broadly in parameter space; a precise match between the frequency of the imposed incident current and the frequency of the trapped free wave is not necessary to produce substantial excitation of the trapped wave. The maximum amplification factors produced in these numerical solutions, O(100) times the strength of the incident current, are consistent with previous studies. In the presence of nonlinear advection, strong residual currents are produced. The time-mean circulation about the seamount is dominated by a strong bottom-intensified, anticyclonic circulation closely trapped to the seamount. Maximum local time-mean current amplitudes are found to be as large as 37% of the magnitude of the propagating waves. In addition to the strong anticyclonic residual flow, there is a weaker secondary circulation in the vertical-radial plane characterized by downwelling over the top of the seamount at all depths. Maximum vertical downwelling rates of several tens of meters per day occur at the summit of the seamount. The vertical mass flux implied by this systematic downwelling is balanced by a slow radial flux of mass directed outward along the flanks of the seamount. Time-mean budgets for the radial and azimuthal components of momentum show that horizontal eddy fluxes of momentum are responsible for transporting net radial and azimuthal momentum from the far field to the upper flanks of the seamount. There, Coriolis and pressure gradient forces provide the dominant balances in the radial direction. However, the Coriolis force and viscous effects provide the primary balance for the azimuthal component.

Description: North Atlantic air-sea heat and freshwater flux data from several sources are used to estimate the conversion rate of water from one density to another throughout the range of sea surface density. This cross-isopycnal mass flux varies greatly over the ocean, with a maximum of 32.2 × 106 m3 s−1 at σ = 26.1 kg m−3 (toward greater densities) and a minimum of −7.6 × 106 m3 s−1 (toward lesser densities) at σ = 23.0 kg m−3. The air-sea fluxes force water to accumulate in three density bands: one at the lowest sea surface densities generated by heating; one centered near the density of subtropical mode water; and one spanning subpolar mode water densities. The transfer of water to the highest and lowest densities is balanced by mixing, which returns water to the middle density range, and also by boundary sources or sinks. Integrating the cross-isopycnal flux over all densities gives an annual average sinking of about 9 × 1O6 m3 s−1, which presumably escapes across the equator and must be balanced by a similar inflow. Comparison with estimates from tracer studies suggests that the renewal of tracer characteristics at a given density may occur without the existence of an annual average mass source at that density, because along- and cross-isopycnal mixing can renew a tracer without supplying mass.

Description: The diet of King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonica at Possession Island was studied in February 1989 by analysis of 20 stomach contents collected from adult birds, just before they fed their single chicks. The mean mass of the samples was 1.84 kg, equivalent to 15% of the unladen adult body-mass. Fish accounted for 99.8% and squids for 0.2% by mass. The main prey were mesopelagic myctophid fish which live in dense shoals and perform a daily vertical migration. Subadults/adults of Electrona carlsbergi and juveniles and subadults/adults of Krefftichthys anderssoni represented 73.7 and 13.4% of the diet by mass, respectively. No difference was found in the diet of male and female King Penguins. Comparison of individual samples suggests that these birds catch a large quantity of fish from only a limited number of shoals. The mean caloric content of the food was 7 kJ/g wet mass. The total energy requirement of each chick during its initial period of growth was estimated to amount to 328,000 kJ, equivalent to 55 kg of food. The rate at which energy was delivered to the chick was calculated to be 50 W during this period.

Description: In Loligo forbesi Steenstrup, the female reproductive system consists of the ovary and accessory reproductive organs which include the oviducal gland, the nidamental gland, the accessory nidamental gland and seminal receptacle. Histological studies were made on the accessory reproductive organs of female L. forbesi. The various changes observed during maturation are described and the functional significance discussed. The secretions produced by the oviducal gland and nidamental gland apparently form the egg coats. The seminal receptacle serves to store spermatozoa after mating. The function of the accessory nidamental gland is unknown.

Description: Whether the study of external morphology can increase our knowledge of shallow-water octopuses and their biology is tested by multivariate morphometric analyses. The extent of morphological variation among 20 species from the Atlantic and eastern tropical Pacific Oceans is explored, and four hypotheses are addressed: (1) that octopuses show secondary sexual dimorphism; (2) that remote, ostensibly conspecific populations are morphologically distinct; (3) that morphometric characters contribute to resource partitioning among sympatric species; and (4) that morphology is predictably associated with habitat. Results of principal components analysis show most species to be very similar in shape. Arm length contributes most shape variation; other characters contribute little. Principal components and size-free discriminant analyses refute each of the hypotheses considered. The morphological similarity of isolated Atlantic populations may be a symplesiomorphy, but information on the planktonic phase of the octopus lire cycle supports the possibility of dispersal across the Atlantic Ocean. Size, not directly treated here, may significantly affect some aspects of octopus biology. Increased female size may evolve due to selection for increased fecundity and intraspecific niche partitioning. Size may also indicate interaction within and among species. Characters of shape, deemed essential to species descriptions, do not appear to be able to identify most specimens, nor to increase our understanding of octopus biology.

Description: Recent developments in side-scan sonar technology have increased the potential for fundamental changes in our understanding of ocean basins. Developed in the late 1960s, “side looking” sonars have been widely used for the last two decades to obtain qualitative estimates of the acoustic properties of the materials of the seafloor. Modern developments in the ability to obtain spatially correct digital data from side-scan sonar systems have resulted in images that can be subsequently processed, enhanced, and quantified. With appropriate processing, these acoustic images can be made to resemble easily recognizable optical photographs. Any geological interpretation of these images requires an understanding of the inherent limitations of the data acquisition system. When imagery is collected, these limitations are largely centered on the concept of resolution. In side-scan sonar images, there are several different types of resolution, including along- and across-track resolution, display resolution, and absolute instrumental resolution. All of these parameters play a critical role in our ability to calibrate and ultimately to interpret the new pictures of the ocean floor. Acoustic image processing is a new application of an old and well-established technique. Digital optical images have benefited from several decades of development in processing techniques. These relatively sophisticated techniques have been applied to photographic images from satellites and spacecraft, images which are “noisy” and difficult to obtain but extremely valuable. Side-scan sonar systems, on the other hand, have only recently been able to produce spatially correct, digital images of the seafloor. The application of digital signal-processing techniques to side-scan sonar data will now allow us to quantify what had been previously very subjective and qualitative interpretations of images of the seafloor. The goal of all this processing of acoustic images remains clear: the development of an interpretable map of the geology of the seafloor.