ALBERT

Beschreibung: Fish stocks have made surprising comebacks in the North and Baltic seas. But much remains to be done. Beginning in January, new EU laws will impose more sustainable practices with stricter quotas and by-catch rules.

Beschreibung: Micro-Raman spectroscopy has been used on adult bivalve shells to investigate organic and inorganic shell components but has not yet been applied to bivalve larvae. It is known that the organic matrix of larval shells contains pigments, but less is known about the presence or source of these molecules in larvae. We investigated Raman spectra of seven species of bivalve larvae to assess the types of pigments present in shells of each species and how the ratio of inorganic : organic material changes in a dorso-ventral direction. In laboratory experiments, we reared larvae of three clam species in waters containing different organic signatures to determine if larvae incorporated compounds from source waters into their shells. We found differences in spectra and pigments between most species but found less intraspecific differences. A neural network classifier for Raman spectra classified five out of seven species with greater than 85% accuracy. There were slight differences between the amount and type of pigment present along the shell, with the prodissoconch I and shell margin areas being the most variable. Raman spectra of 1-day-old larvae were found to be differentiable when larvae were reared in waters with different organic signatures. With micro-Raman spectroscopy, it may be possible to identify some unknown species in the wild and trace their natal origins, which could enhance identification accuracy of bivalve larvae and ultimately aid management and restoration efforts.

Beschreibung: On the Earth, the atmosphere, ocean, and land interact with each other. For example, an atmospheric pressure system directly influences the Sea Surface Heights (SSHs) in a barometric sense; the associated wind transfers momentum from the atmosphere into the ocean, which alters the ocean currents affecting again the SSHs. The integrated effects of all motion components directly influence the angular momentum of the Earth, while the integrated effect of all mass variations alters the Earth’s inertia. Both can excite the Earth Orientation Parameters (EOPs). In this study, we use the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to simulate mass and motion variations within a coupled climate system. The modeled mass and motion variations of all subcomponents are used to compute the total excitation functions, which then are compared to very precise global EOP observations, provided by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). For further reference, the modeled excitation functions of the subcomponents are compared to operational excitations, provided by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). This allows an evaluation of the global model behavior and of the subcomponents. Further, regions of particularly high influence on the excitations as well as regions of especially strong dynamical coupling are identified. Four CESM experiments were performed, one reference experiment featuring solely natural variations, while the others separate the influence of (I) a coupled ocean component; (II) the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and (III) anthropogenic forcings, e.g. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ozone depleting substances (ODS). The modeled EOPs are in good agreement with the reference data sets, but reveal an slight overestimation of the modeled atmospheric mass component in the North Pacific for annual to interannual timescales, leading to deviations in the X1 component. Analyzing variations among the CESM experiments reveal (I) the complete absence of interannual subtropical tropospheric jet variability when using a climatological ocean; (II) a significantly increased atmospheric mass variation in the arctic region in the absence of a QBO; and (III) hardly any modeled effect of the global dynamics with respect to anthropogenic forcings. Finally, the North Pacific - a region with particularly strong atmosphere-ocean coupling - is investigated, highlighting wind driven ocean mass variations within the model and GRACE observations. The identified significant wind patterns explain the modeled ocean mass variations and can be directly projected onto ERA-Interim data in order to estimate the independent GRACE observations. The here presented relation between the ERA-Interim winds and the GRACE gravity field observations supporting the following two conclusions: (I) ERA-Interim winds can be used to further refine GRACE observations; (II) GRACE observations contain assimilation worthy information for atmospheric models.

Beschreibung: The stratigraphic successions exposed in Wadi El Mizeira have been dated through the analysis of the calcareous nannofossil assemblages. The results of this study indicate that the successions comprise the Santonian-Late Maastrichtian (Sudr Formation), the Paleocene (Esna Formation) and the Early Eocene (Thebes Formation). The following biozones were recognized: Late Santonian, CC16 Zone; Late Santonian/Early Campanian, CC17 Zone; Early Campanian, Aspidolithus parcus Zone (CC18) Zone; Late Maastrichtian, CC25c Zone; Early Paleocene (Late Danian), NP3 Zone and NP4 Zone; Late Paleocene (Thanethian-Selandian), NP5 Zone; Early Eocene, NP9b Zone, NP10a Zone, NP11 Zone, NP12 Zone and NP14 Zone. Several stratigraphic hiatus were recorded in the studied interval including the absence of Cretaceous nannofossil Zones CC19 to CC25b and CC26 as well as the early Paleocene Zones NP1 and NP2 and probably the basal part of Zone NP3, in addition to the absence of the Zones NP6 and NP7/8. These hiatus may be attributed to environmental conditions, structural activity and/or post depositional processes. This work represents the first attempt to evaluate the nannofossil taxa of the Wadi El Mizeira, Northeastern Sinai.

Beschreibung: Hemigrapsus sanguineus (Asian Shore Crab) has shown a remarkable ability to colonize rocky intertidal communities along the east coast of the United States since its introduction in the late 1980s and is an important predator of juvenile Mytilus edulis (Blue Mussel) in invaded habitats. In this study, we used two field-caging experiments and the Kaplan-Meier model to assess the impact of predation by Asian Shore Crab on the survival of juvenile Blue Mussels in an intertidal habitat of western Long Island Sound along the Connecticut coastline. Five treatment levels (high-density enclosure, low-density enclosure, exclosure, partial cage, and open plot) were used in the 2007 experiment. The high-density enclosure treatment was omitted in the 2010 experiment since there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of mussels surviving between low- and high-density crab treatments in 2007. In 2007, we measured a statistically significant difference in mussel mortality between exclosure and crab-enclosure cages, with crabs lowering the median survival time for mussels from 15.4 to 7.6 days. In 2010, we again measured a statistically significant difference in mussel mortality between exclosure and crab-enclosure cages, suggesting a crab effect on mussel survival. In the 2010 experiment, approximately 25% of the mussel mortality was attributable to crab predation, which reduced median survival time for mussels from 12.8 to 5.6 days. The median survival time for mussels exposed to the full complement of factors affecting survival (open plots and partial cages) was only 2–3 days. Our study shows that predation by Asian crabs may account for up to 25% of the Blue Mussel mortality in the intertidal zone at Black Rock Harbor. Further studies focusing on the importance of other biotic and abiotic factors are needed to understand the apparent declines in Blue Mussel populations and the interannual variability in recruitment success in this area.

Beschreibung: Surface sediments of thermokarst lakes along the temperature gradient were sampled in northwestern Siberia. The lakes were distributed through three environmental zones: typical tundra, southern tundra and forest-tundra, which were all situated within the continuous permafrost zone. Our investigation showed that the cladoceran communities in the lakes of the region are represented by diverse, abundant communities as reflected by the taxonomic richness and high diversity indices. The differences in the cladoceran assemblages were related to the limnological and geographical position, vegetation type, climate and water chemistry. The constrained redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that the TJuly, water depth and both sulphate (SOf ~) and silicium (Si4*) concentrations statistically significant (p 〈 0.05) explained the variance in the cladoceran assemblage.

Beschreibung: Tephra provides regional chronostratigraphical marker horizons that can link different climate archives with highly needed accuracy and precision. The results presented in this work exemplify, however, that the intermittent storage of tephra in ice sheets and during its subsequent iceberg transport, especially during glacial stages, constitutes a potential source of serious error for the application of tephrochronology to Nordic Seas and North Atlantic sediment archives. The peak shard concentration of the rhyolitic component of the North Atlantic Ash Zone II (NAAZ-II) tephra complex, often used to correlate marine and ice core records in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, is shown to lag the eruption event by ca. 100–400 years in some North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea cores. While still allowing for a correlation of archives on millennial timescales, this time delay in deposition is a major obstacle when addressing the lead–lag relationship on short timescales (years to centuries). A precise and accurate determination of lead–lag relationships between archives recording different parts of the climate system is crucial in order to test hypotheses about the processes leading to abrupt climate change and to evaluate results from climate models. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Beschreibung: Marine phytoplankton blooms are annual spring events that sustain active and diverse bloom-associated bacterial populations. Blooms vary considerably in terms of eukaryotic species composition and environmental conditions, but a limited number of heterotrophic bacterial lineages — primarily members of the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria — dominate these communities. In this Review, we discuss the central role that these bacteria have in transforming phytoplankton-derived organic matter and thus in biogeochemical nutrient cycling. On the basis of selected field and laboratory-based studies of flavobacteria and roseobacters, distinct metabolic strategies are emerging for these archetypal phytoplankton-associated taxa, which provide insights into the underlying mechanisms that dictate their behaviours during blooms.

Beschreibung: An increasing body of research emphasizes that various biological processes in marine organisms are affected due to the uptake of anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 by the ocean in a process termed as ocean acidification (OA). The magnitude and direction of OA effects varies greatly among species and genotypes, highlighting different capabilities to adapt to increasing CO2. Direct OA impacts can be expected in the biochemical and elemental composition of primary producers (PP), which may be transferred to higher trophic levels, while indirect impacts can derive from altered trophic interactions as OA can modify plankton community composition. Fatty acids (FA) are the main component of lipids and cell membranes, with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) having additional important physiological and metabolic roles. Phytoplankton is the main source of essential biomolecules for heterotrophs as they cannot synthesize them de novo. Transference of organic essential macromolecules, in particular PUFA from phytoplankton-to-zooplankton-to-fish is a key factor influencing the life cycle of many organisms including humans. In the present work was investigated how OA influences the food quality of primary producers in terms of their fatty acid makeup at specie and community level, and how these OA-driven changes in the algae affect the fatty acid profile and life cycle of consumers. A combination of short- and long-term experiments on individual algal species, interaction between a single primary producer and one consumer, and natural plankton communities encompassing several producers and consumers were conducted in laboratory and natural conditions. In the short-term experiments at species level, the first and second laboratory study showed that CO2 can affect the biochemical composition of the diatoms Thalassiosira pseudonana and Cylindrotheca fusiformis, reducing their PUFA content; additionally the second diatom showed a reduced amount of amino acids. The interaction between a single primary producer and one consumer showed that when T. pseudonana cultured under high CO2 was used to feed the copepod Acartia tonsa, it affected their FA composition, severely impaired development and egg production rates. This demonstrated that a direct OA-driven shift in algal food quality can influence the reproduction success of upper trophic levels. At the community level, the third study conducted in a North Sea natural plankton assemblage subjected to a CO2 gradient showed that OA can modify phytoplankton community structures by favoring small phytoplankton cells with a comparatively low PUFA content. This community shift reduced PUFA content in primary producers was linked to a gradual PUFA decline in the dominant copepod species Calanus finmarchicus. In contrary, the fourth study revealed that the natural plankton community of the Baltic Sea experienced small differences in the algal community composition between CO2 treatments. The PUFA profile of the PP was influenced by phosphorus availability in the mesocosms, which was reflected by the PUFA composition of the copepod Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora affinis, but showed no significant CO2-related changes. This indicates that OA can affect the plankton community composition and its associated PUFA content, however this effect is lower in environments where communities are exposed to natural occurring high CO2 fluctuations like in the Baltic Sea, and that other essential nutrients have a stronger influence in the algal FA profile when present in limited amounts. In the long term experiments at species level, the fourth study determined that the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi and the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium sp. cultured over a thousand generations at high CO2 conditions showed a change in their FA content and composition. The FA profile of both algae presented a differentiate adaptation to high CO2 and particularly PUFA, which have metabolic functions in the cells, displayed evidence of adaptive evolution in both algae. These results highlight the diversity of OA responses among single plankton species and communities and that changes in biomolecular composition at the base of the marine food web are transferred to primary consumers. The thesis also highlights that the magnitude and direction of CO2-effects likely depends on the CO2 conditions and fluctuations the organisms are adapted to.

Beschreibung: Owing to the turbulent nature of the ocean, mesoscale eddies are omnipresent. The impact of these transitory and approximately circular sea surface temperature fronts on the overlying atmosphere is not well known. Stationary fronts such as the Gulf Stream have been reported to lead to pronounced atmospheric changes1, 2. However, the impact of transient ocean eddies on the atmosphere has not been determined systematically, except on winds and to some extent clouds3, 4, 5, 6. Here, we examine the atmospheric conditions associated with over 600,000 individual eddies in the Southern Ocean, using satellite data. We show that ocean eddies locally affect near-surface wind, cloud properties and rainfall. The observed pattern of atmospheric change is consistent with a mechanism in which sea surface temperature anomalies associated with the oceanic eddies modify turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer. In the case of cyclonic eddies, this modification triggers a slackening of near-surface winds, a decline in cloud fraction and water content, and a reduction in rainfall. We conclude that transient mesoscale ocean structures can significantly affect much larger atmospheric low-pressure systems that swiftly pass by at the latitudes investigated.

Beschreibung: Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from a core southwest of Disko Bugt provide a Holocene perspective (last ~7 ka BP) on ice-sheet/ocean interactions between the West Greenland Current (WGC) and the West Greenland ice sheet. Changes in the fauna reveal significant variations in the water mass properties (temperature and salinity) of the WGC through time. From 7.3 to 6.2 ka BP, a relatively warm/strong WGC influences ice-sheet melt in Disko Bugt and causes enhanced meltwater production, resulting in low surface-water productivity. The most favourable oceanographic conditions occur from 5.5 to 3.5 ka BP, associated with ‘thermal optimum-like’ conditions, encompassing minimum ice sheet extent in the Disko Bugt area. These conditions are attributed to: (1) reduced meltwater influence as the ice sheet is land based and (2) enhanced contribution of warm/saline water masses from the Irminger Current to the WGC. The transition into the late Holocene (last ~3.5 ka BP) is characterized by a cooling of oceanographic conditions, caused by increased advection of cold/low-salinity water masses from the East Greenland Current. A longer-term late-Holocene cooling trend within the WGC is attributed to the onset of Neoglacial cooling within the North Atlantic region. Superimposed on this cooling trend, multicentennial-scale variability within the WGC matches reconstructions from a nearby coring site in Disko Bugt as follows: (1) cooling at ~2.5 ka BP, linked to the 2.7 ka BP ‘cooling event’; (2) a warm phase centred at 1.8 ka BP, associated with the ‘Roman Warm Period’; (3) slight warming between 1.4 and 0.9 ka BP, linked to the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’; (4) severe cooling of the WGC after 0.9 ka BP, culminating at 0.3 ka BP during the ‘Little Ice Age’. We show that multicentennial-scale palaeoceanography variability along the West Greenland margin is driven by ocean forcing, i.e. variations in the relative contribution of Atlantic (Irminger Current) and Polar (East Greenland Current) water masses to the WGC during the last ~7 ka BP, influencing ice sheet dynamics.

Beschreibung: Mud diapirism has recently been recognized in several modern accretionary wedges. It provides an important means of dewatering accretionary wedges and should be regarded as an important process for producing the melanges found in both modern and ancient accretionary terranes. Mud diapirism affects a large area of the Barbados Ridge Accretionary Complex. The distribution of the mud diapirs appears to be primarily controlled by the presence of underconsolidated terrigenous submarine fan deposits that are being accreted to the complex. The frequency of diapir occurrence decreases northward as the fan becomes thinner. Mud diapirs are absent from the very eastern most part of the complex formed from sediments accreted at its toe, with the exception of a few mud volcanoes on the ocean floor in front of the complex. The initiation of diapirism appears to be spatially coincident with the onset of subcretion, or underplating, of sediment to the base of the complex at a ramp between two levels of decollement. It is proposed that the release of mud and pore water from the subcreted sediments is a direct or indirect cause of most of the mud diapirism in the accretionary complex. There is a range of diapiric form dependent on the viscosity of the mud, from mud volcanoes fed by low viscosity mud, to higher viscosity mud ridges. The diapirs in the eastern areas of the complex are generally mud volcanoes with narrow conduits feeding a surface mound. Mud ridges are prominent in the western parts of the complex. This is interpreted as reflecting a general westward decrease in the fluid content of the accretionary complex. Bottom-simulating seismic reflectors formed by gas hydrate are commonly developed in the areas of mud volcano occurrences. The presence of the hydrate indicates that large volumes of methane are being generated at depth in these regions. The generation of methane may be contributing to zones of overpressuring in the wedge. Methane may also be partly responsible for driving the diapiric material to the surface to form mud volcanoes. Ridges in the subducting oceanic crust beneath the accretionary complex locally enhance diapirism above their crests and southern flanks. Faults formed later in the development of the complex are more commonly associated with diapirism than those resulting from accretion at the toe of the wedge. These later faults play an important role in controlling the sites of individual mud volcanoes, chains of mud volcanoes, and mud ridges.

Beschreibung: During Pliocene to Quaternary time, the central Aleutian forearc basin evolved in response to a combination of tectonic and climatic factors. Initially, along-trench transport of sediment and accretion of a frontal prism created the accommodation space to allow forearc basin deposition. Transport of sufficient sediment to overtop the bathymetrically high Amlia fracture zone and reach the central Aleutian arc began with glaciation of continental Alaska in the Pliocene. As the obliquely subducting Amlia fracture zone swept along the central Aleutian arc, it further affected the structural evolution of the forearc basins. The subduction of the Amlia fracture zone resulted in basin inversion and loss of accommodation space east of the migrating fracture zone. Conversely, west of Amlia fracture zone, accommodation space increased arcward of a large outer-arc high that formed, in part, by a thickening of arc basement. This difference in deformation is interpreted to be the result of a variation in interplate coupling across the Amlia fracture zone that was facilitated by increasing subduction obliquity, a change in orientation of the subducting Amlia fracture zone, and late Quaternary intensification of glaciation. The change in coupling is manifested by a possible tear in the subducting slab along the Amlia fracture zone. Differences in coupling across the Amlia fracture zone have important implications for the location of maximum slip during future great earthquakes. In addition, shaking during a great earthquake could trigger large mass failures of the summit platform, as evidenced by the presence of thick mass transport deposits of primarily Quaternary age that are found in the forearc basin west of the Amlia fracture zone.

Beschreibung: An influence of solar irradiance variations on Earth’s surface climate has been repeatedly suggested, based on correlations between solar variability and meteorological variables1. Specifically, weaker westerly winds have been observed in winters with a less active sun, for example at the minimum phase of the 11-year sunspot cycle2, 3, 4. With some possible exceptions5, 6, it has proved difficult for climate models to consistently reproduce this signal7, 8. Spectral Irradiance Monitor satellite measurements indicate that variations in solar ultraviolet irradiance may be larger than previously thought9. Here we drive an ocean–atmosphere climate model with ultraviolet irradiance variations based on these observations. We find that the model responds to the solar minimum with patterns in surface pressure and temperature that resemble the negative phase of the North Atlantic or Arctic Oscillation, of similar magnitude to observations. In our model, the anomalies descend through the depth of the extratropical winter atmosphere. If the updated measurements of solar ultraviolet irradiance are correct, low solar activity, as observed during recent years, drives cold winters in northern Europe and the United States, and mild winters over southern Europe and Canada, with little direct change in globally averaged temperature. Given the quasiregularity of the 11-year solar cycle, our findings may help improve decadal climate predictions for highly populated extratropical regions

Beschreibung: The Sanjiang Basin has received more attention in Mesozoic stratum and petroleum potential research because of its particularity in geographic and tectonic position. There remains debate on the basement structure of the basin since igneous rocks and faults make the structure and stratigraphy more complicated. In this paper we utilize gravity and magnetic data as well as petrophysical properties and drilling logs to understand the structure of the Sanjiang Basin. The study is focused on the comparison between the western and eastern parts of the basin. The comparison reveals that there are distinct differences in the gravity and magnetic field between the western and eastern parts. The integrated analysis of the gravity, magnetic, geological, petrophysical data and drilling logs indicates that the difference in the gravity and magnetic field results from the different basement structure and caprock formation of the two parts of the basin. The basement consists of three parts from west to east, the Proterozoic crystalline basement, the Neopaleozoic fold basement and the Lower Mesozoic fold basement separately. The Tongjiang–Yingchun Fault and the Qinglongshan–Xiaoheyan Fault controlled the formation and development of depressions and uplifts and also affected the sedimentation and volcanic activities of the basin. The Sanjiang Basin has relatively thin and stable crust thickness, varying around 33 km, and the deep structure has control and constraint over the shallow conformations.

Beschreibung: At Santorini, active normal faulting controls the emission of volcanic products. Such geometry has implication on seismic activity around the plumbing system during unrest. Static Coulomb stress changes induced by the 2011–2012 inflation within a preexisting NW-SE extensional regional stress field, compatible with fault geometry, increased by more than 0.5MPa in an ellipsoid-shaped zone beneath the Minoan caldera where almost all earthquakes (96%) have occurred since beginning of unrest. Magmatic processes perturb the regional stress in the caldera where strike-slip rather than normal faulting along NE-SW striking planes are expected. The inflation may have also promoted more distant moderate earthquakes on neighboring faults as the M〉5 January 2012, south of Christiania. Santorini belongs to a set of en echelon NE-SW striking rifts (Milos, Nysiros) oblique to the Aegean arc that may have initiated in the Quaternary due to propagation of the North Anatolian fault into the Southern Aegean Sea.

Beschreibung: The increasing scientific and economic interest in the visual exploration and monitoring of marine areas is creating huge amounts of new underwater image and video data and approaches to computationally assisted analysis are desperately needed. In this paper we propose an image patch feature representation concept, the Bag of Prototypes (BoP), to cope with the individual problems in underwater image analysis. We consider the case of seafloor classification, which is relevant in many contexts such as habitat mapping or the exploration of mineral resources and show, that the BoP concept allows an efficient and accurate tile-wise estimation of poly-metallic nodule coverage in relation to two differently acquired gold standards.

Beschreibung: Detecting objects in underwater image sequences and video frames automatically, requires the application of selected algorithms in consecutive steps. Most of these algorithms are controlled by a set of parameters, which need to be calibrated for an optimal detection result. Those parameters determine the effectivity and efficiency of an algorithm and their impact is usually well known. There are however further non-algorithmic impact factors (or hidden parameters), which bias the training of a machine learning system as well as the subsequent detection process and thus need to be well understood and taken into account. In the context of megafauna detection in benthic images, we investigate the effects of some of these parameters on our machine learning based detection system iSIS. The images to be analyzed were taken at the deep-sea, long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN in which five experts labeled seven distinct object classes as an annotation gold standard. We found, that the hidden parameters from imaging as well as the fusion of expert knowledge could partly be compensated and were able to achieve detection performances of 0.67 precision and 0.87 recall. Despite the efforts to compensate the hidden parameters, the detection performance was still varying across the image transect. This poses the potential occurrence of further hidden parameters not taken into account so far.

Beschreibung: Megafauna play an important role in benthic ecosystem function and are sensitive indicators of environmental change. Non-invasive monitoring of benthic communities can be accomplished by seafloor imaging. However, manual quantification of megafauna in images is labor-intensive and therefore, this organism size class is often neglected in ecosystem studies. Automated image analysis has been proposed as a possible approach to such analysis, but the heterogeneity of megafaunal communities poses a non-trivial challenge for such automated techniques. Here, the potential of a generalized object detection architecture, referred to as iSIS (intelligent Screening of underwater Image Sequences), for the quantification of a heterogenous group of megafauna taxa is investigated. The iSIS system is tuned for a particular image sequence (i.e. a transect) using a small subset of the images, in which megafauna taxa positions were previously marked by an expert. To investigate the potential of iSIS and compare its results with those obtained from human experts, a group of eight different taxa from one camera transect of seafloor images taken at the Arctic deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN is used. The results show that inter-and intra-observer agreements of human experts exhibit considerable variation between the species, with a similar degree of variation apparent in the automatically derived results obtained by iSIS. Whilst some taxa (e. g. Bathycrinus stalks, Kolga hyalina, small white sea anemone) were well detected by iSIS (i.e. overall Sensitivity: 87%, overall Positive Predictive Value: 67%), some taxa such as the small sea cucumber Elpidia heckeri remain challenging, for both human observers and iSIS.

Beschreibung: Growth rates of the cold-water corals (CWC) Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Desmophyllum dianthus and Dendrophyllia cornigera were measured over 8 mo under controlled conditions (12°C in the dark, fed 5 times a week) by means of the buoyant weight technique. Additionally, linear growth rates were measured in M. oculata and L. pertusa for 2 and 1 yr, respectively. The weight measurements revealed growth rates, expressed as percent growth per day (mean ± SD), of 0.11 ± 0.04 for M. oculata, 0.02 ± 0.01 for L. pertusa, 0.06 ± 0.03 for D. dianthus and 0.04 ± 0.02 % d–1 for D. cornigera. Growth in M. oculata was significantly higher (p 〈 0.0001) than in the other 3 CWC species. For M. oculata and L. pertusa, also linear growth was recorded. These values (mean ± SD) were 0.014 ± 0.007 and 0.024 ± 0.018 mm d–1 for M. oculata and L. pertusa, respectively. This is the first study that compares the growth rates of 4 different CWC species under the same experimental conditions of water flow, temperature, salinity and food supply. These corals have different growth rates, both in terms of total weight increase and linear increase, and these growth rates can be related to interspecific physiological differences. Data on growth rates are essential to understand the population dynamics of CWC as well as the recovery capacity of these communities after disturbance.

Beschreibung: The granule floatation is a serious issue of the anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process when high loading rates are applied that results in instability or even system collapse. The present study reports the granule floatation in an anammox reactor when high loading rates were applied. The comparison of enlarged photos taken for the settling and floating granules showed that the two kinds of granules both contained macroscopic gas pockets accounting for 11 +/- 14% of total volume. The settling granules had gas tunnels that could release the gas bubbles, while the floating granules did not. The presence of gas bubbles enclosed in the gas pockets led to the small density of 979.2 +/- 15.8 mg L(-1) and flotation of anammox granules. Consequently, the flotation caused washout of anammox granules and the deterioration of anammox process (volumetric removal rate decreased from 4.00 to 2.46 kg N m(-3) d(-1)). The collection of floating granules, breaking them into small pieces and then returning to the anammox reactor proved an effective control strategy. The volumetric removal rate was finally up to 16.5 kg N m(-3) d(-1) after the control strategy was put into use.

Beschreibung: Biomineralized structures and tissues are composites, containing a biologically produced organic matrix and nano- or microscale amorphous or crystalline minerals. Two main examples of organic matrices – the amino-polysaccharide chitin and the asymmetric protein collagen – are presented and discussed as the basic structural modules and organo-templates for calcium and silica biomineralization in nature. Both serve as templates, providing preferential sites for nucleation and controlling the location and orientation of mineral phases. Here, for the first time, chitin and collagen are analysed from evolutionary, structural, and functional points of view with respect to their templating properties in calcification and silicification phenomena, using both in vivo and in vitro data. It is proposed that these biopolymers be characterized as fundamental templates in biomineralization, inasmuch as they are very ancient from an evolutionary point of view, common to many species and biological systems with a global distribution. The two polymers also exhibit very similar hierarchical structural organizations, in spite of the possible alternatives they provide in chemical nature and origin. In addition, the phenomenon of multi-phase mineralization – where two minerals, amorphous and crystalline CaCO3, form from one biomolecule, chitin – is also described, analysed, and discussed for the first time.

Beschreibung: A novel chemolithoautotrophic, hyperthermophilic methanogen was isolated from a submarine hydrothermal system at the Kolbeinsey Ridge, north of Iceland. Based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence, the strain belongs to the order Methanococcales within the genus Methanocaldococcus, with approximately 95 % sequence similarity to Methanocaldococcus jannaschii as its closest relative. Cells of the novel organism stained Gram-negative and appeared as regular to irregular cocci possessing more than 50 polar flagella. These cell appendages mediated not only motility but also adherence to abiotic surfaces and the formation of cell–cell contacts. The new isolate grew at 55–90 °C, with optimum growth at 80 °C. The optimum NaCl concentration for growth was 2.5 % (w/v), and the optimal pH was 6.5. The cells gained their energy exclusively by reduction of CO2 with H2. Selenate, tungstate and yeast extract stimulated growth significantly. The genome size was determined to be in the range 1.8–2.0 kb, and the G+C content of the genomic DNA was 30 mol%. Despite being physiologically nearly identical to the other members of the genus Methanocaldococcus, analysis of whole-cell proteins revealed significant differences. Based on the results from phylogenetic, morphological and protein analyses, we conclude that the novel strain represents a novel species of the genus Methanocaldococcus, for which the name Methanocaldococcus villosus sp. nov. is proposed (type strain KIN24-T80T  = DSM 22612T  = JCM 16315T).

Beschreibung: A total of 96 species of sponge were recorded in a bathymetric survey conducted within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Non-random processes are hypothesised to account for the decline in species richness with increasing depth, and the data add support to Rapoport’s rule. Morphological and colour diversity were strongly correlated and decreased with depth. Five communities could be identified at the 30% level of similarity using cluster analysis, and these correspond to intertidal and shallow subtidal (to 10 m), deep sub-photic zone (coral reefs: 10–30 m), deep reefs (40–90 m), canyon margin (100–140 m) and canyon (140–360 m). The data add support to recently hypothesised bathymetric zones around South Africa.

Beschreibung: Little is known about the basic biology of deep-water coral species. In this study, we experimentally assessed the rates of ingestion of Artemia salina adults and nauplii by the 4 Mediterranean cold water coral species Dendrophyllia cornigera, Desmophyllum cristagalli, Madrepora oculata, and Lophelia pertusa. All species ingested A. salina in adult and nauplii forms. L. pertusa showed the highest grazing rate for both prey types, whereas M. oculata showed the lowest capture rates among the 4 species, and was practically unable to ingest adult prey. Capture rates of the 4 coral species ranged between 5 and 8 adult A. salina, and 50 and 280 nauplii polyp–1 h–1. Surprisingly, both capture rates and carbon uptake (adult Artemia ingestion: 994 to 3542 µg C polyp–1 h–1; nauplii ingestion: 78.1 to 462 µg C polyp–1 h–1) were within the range of values found in some tropical corals (which often ingest 0.004 to 3600 prey items polyp–1 h–1). The results show that the capture rates and energy input of the studied cold water coral species appear to be on a level that is comparable to that of other corals, even tropical zooxanthellate species.

Beschreibung: Mucus, a complex composed primarily of carbohydrates, is released in similar quantities by scleractinian warm- and cold-water reef corals, and can function as an important carrier of organic material from corals to a range of consumers, microbes in particular. However, information about mucus chemical composition is rare for warm-water corals and non-existent for cold-water corals. This study therefore presents comparative carbohydrate composition analyses of mucus released by the dominant and cosmopolitan warm- and cold-water coral genera. Arabinose was the major mucus carbohydrate component for the genus Acropora, but was not found in cold-water coral mucus. Mucus derived from corals of the genus Fungia contained significantly more fucose than the mucus of all other coral genera. However, comparison of mucus carbohydrate composition for the warm- and cold-water corals in the present study and in the literature revealed no significant differences. This indicates use of similar carbohydrate components (with the exception of arabinose) during mucus synthesis by scleractinian corals, largely irrespective of zooxanthellate or azooxanthellate carbon supply mechanisms.

Beschreibung: Sunscreens have been shown to give the most effective protection for human skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Chemicals from sunscreens (i.e., UV filters) accumulate in the sea and have toxic effects on marine organisms. In this report, we demonstrate that photoexcitation of inorganic UV filters (i.e., TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles) under solar radiation produces significant amounts of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a strong oxidizing agent that generates high levels of stress on marine phytoplankton. Our results indicate that the inorganic oxide nanoparticle content in 1 g of commercial sunscreen produces rates of H2O2 in seawater of up to 463 nM/h, directly affecting the growth of phytoplankton. Conservative estimates for a Mediterranean beach reveal that tourism activities during a summer day may release on the order of 4 kg of TiO2 nanoparticles to the water and produce an increment in the concentration of H2O2 of 270 nM/day. Our results, together with the data provided by tourism records in the Mediterranean, point to TiO2 nanoparticles as the major oxidizing agent entering coastal waters, with direct ecological consequences on the ecosystem.

Beschreibung: Cold-water coral (CWC) reefs constitute one of the most complex deep-sea habitats harboring a vast diversity of associated species. Like other tropical or temperate framework builders, these systems are facing an uncertain future due to several threats, such as global warming and ocean acidification. In the case of Mediterranean CWC communities, the effect may be exacerbated due to the greater capacity of these waters to absorb atmospheric CO2 compared to the global ocean. Calcification in these organisms is an energy-demanding process, and it is expected that energy requirements will be greater as seawater pH and the availability of carbonate ions decrease. Therefore, studies assessing the effect of a pH decrease in skeletal growth, and metabolic balance are critical to fully understand the potential responses of these organisms under a changing scenario. In this context, the present work aims to investigate the medium- to long-term effect of a low pH scenario on calcification and the biochemical composition of two CWCs from the Mediterranean, Dendrophyllia cornigera and Desmophyllum dianthus. After 314 d of exposure to acidified conditions, a significant decrease of 70 % was observed in Desmophyllum dianthus skeletal growth rate, while Dendrophyllia cornigera showed no differences between treatments. Instead, only subtle differences between treatments were observed in the organic matter amount, lipid content, skeletal microdensity, or porosity in both species, although due to the high variability of the results, these differences were not statistically significant. Our results also confirmed a heterogeneous effect of low pH on the skeletal growth rate of the organisms depending on their initial weight, suggesting that those specimens with high calcification rates may be the most susceptible to the negative effects of acidification.

Beschreibung: Deep-water ecosystems are characterized by relatively low carbonate concentration values and, due to ocean acidification (OA), these habitats might be among the first to be exposed to undersaturated conditions in the forthcoming years. However, until now, very few studies have been conducted to test how cold-water coral (CWC) species react to such changes in the seawater chemistry. The present work aims to investigate the mid-term effect of decreased pH on calcification of the two branching CWC species most widely distributed in the Mediterranean, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. No significant effects were observed in the skeletal growth rate, microdensity and porosity of both species after 6 months of exposure. However, while the calcification rate of M. oculata was similar for all colony fragments, a heterogeneous skeletal growth pattern was observed in L. pertusa, the younger nubbins showing higher growth rates than the older ones. A higher energy demand is expected in these young, fast-growing fragments and, therefore, a reduction in calcification might be noticed earlier during long-term exposure to acidified conditions.

Beschreibung: We report and describe new material of streptaster-bearing Astrophorida sponges collected in Norway: Characellapachastrelloides, Pachastrella nodulosa sp. nov., Poecillastra compressa, Vulcanella cf. aberrans, Thenea abyssorum,Thenea levis, Thenea muricata and Thenea valdiviae. Because many of these species were described in the end of the 19thcentury their original descriptions are often incomplete. The Norwegian specimens are the basis for a revision of themorphology, taxonomy and distribution of these species. These are the first records of C. pachastrelloides and V. cf.aberrans from the Norwegian coast. Pachastrella nodulosa sp. nov. differs from Pachastrella monilifera by (i) its knobbysurface and (ii) the absence of large oxeas, (iii) its amphiasters have on average less actines and are less spiny, finally (iv)microxeas are rare and with a distinct morphology (although there is some doubt concerning their origin). In the presentstudy, Characella tuberosa (from South Africa), Pachastrella abyssi (from the North-West Atlantic) and Thenea schmidti(from the North-East Atlantic) are resurrected. To help their future identifications, all the Norwegian species describedwere associated with DNA barcodes: a cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene partial fragment and/or a 28S ribosomalgene partial fragment (C1–D2 domains). Furthermore, a key to the streptaster-bearing Astrophorida of the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea is also given (lithistids not included).Nous signalons la présence et décrivons des spécimens d’Astrophorida à streptasters nouvellement récoltés en Norvège:Characella pachastrelloides, Pachastrella nodulosa sp. nov., Poecillastra compressa, Vulcanella cf. aberrans, Theneaabyssorum, Thenea levis, Thenea muricata et Thenea valdiviae. Plusieurs de ces espèces ont été décrites de manièreincomplète à la fin du 19ème siècle. Les spécimens norvégiens sont l’occasion de réviser la morphologie, la taxonomie etla distribution de ces espèces. C’est la première fois que C. pachastrelloides et V. cf. aberrans sont mentionnés sur la côtenorvégienne. Pachastrella nodulosa sp. nov. se distingue de Pachastrella monilifera par (i) sa surface noduleuse et (ii)l’absence de grands oxes, (iii) ses amphiasters ont en moyenne moins d’actines et sont moins épineux, enfin (iv) lesmicroxes sont rares et ont une morphologie distincte (bien qu’il y ait encore des doutes sur leur origine). Au cours de notreétude, Characella tuberosa (d’Afrique du Sud), Pachastrella abyssi (de l’Atlantique Nord-Ouest) et Thenea schmidti (del’Atlantique Nord-Est) sont ressuscités. Afin d’aider leurs identifications futures, toutes les espèces de Norvège décritesont été associées à des code-barres moléculaires: un fragment partiel du gène de la sous-unité I du cytochrome c oxydase(COI) et/ou un fragment partiel du gène ribosomique 28S (domaines C1-D2). De plus, une clé pour identifier les Astrophorida à streptasters de l’Atlantique Nord-Est et de Méditerrannée est également fournie (lithistides non inclus).

Beschreibung: In the Mediterranean deep-sea, scleractinian cold-water corals (CWC) are observed to survive at the uppermost end of their presumed thermal distribution range (4–13 °C). Here, we show that 2 common CWC species (i.e. Dendrophyllia cornigera and Desmophyllum dianthus) maintained in aquaria can indeed tolerate considerably elevated seawater temperatures (17.5 ± 0.1 °C), while growing at similar (D. dianthus) or significantly higher (D. cornigera) rates than conspecifics cultured in parallel for 87 days at ambient Mediterranean deep-sea temperature (12.5 ± 0.1 °C). Neither differences in coral appearance nor mortality were evident for both species at either temperature. D. dianthus grew significantly faster (0.23 ± 0.08 % day−1) than D. cornigera (0.05 ± 0.01 % day−1) under ambient thermal conditions. Growth of D. cornigera increased significantly (0.14 ± 0.07 % day−1) at elevated temperature, while Desmophyllum dianthus growth showed no significant difference under both conditions. These findings suggest that D. dianthus and D. cornigera may be capable of surviving in warmer environments than previously reported, and thus challenge temperature as the paramount limiting environmental factor for the occurrence of some CWC species.

Beschreibung: Cold-water coral reefs are known to locally enhance the diversity of deep-sea fauna as well as of microbes. Sponges are among the most diverse faunal groups in these ecosystems, and many of them host large abundances of microbes in their tissues. In this study, twelve sponge species from three cold-water coral reefs off Norway were investigated for the relationship between sponge phylogenetic classification (species and family level), as well as sponge type (high versus low microbial abundance), and the diversity of sponge-associated bacterial communities, taking also geographic location and water depth into account. Community analysis by Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) showed that as many as 345 (79%) of the 437 different bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) detected in the dataset were shared between sponges and sediments, while only 70 (16%) appeared purely sponge-associated. Furthermore, changes in bacterial community structure were significantly related to sponge species (63% of explained community variation), sponge family (52%) or sponge type (30%), whereas mesoscale geographic distances and water depth showed comparatively small effects (〈5% each). In addition, a highly significant, positive relationship between bacterial community dissimilarity and sponge phylogenetic distance was observed within the ancient family of the Geodiidae. Overall, the high diversity of sponges in cold-water coral reefs, combined with the observed sponge-related variation in bacterial community structure, support the idea that sponges represent heterogeneous, yet structured microbial habitats that contribute significantly to enhancing bacterial diversity in deep-sea ecosystems.

Beschreibung: The spatial variability in the mix of species making up Cold-water coral reef communities is not well known. In this study abundances of a selection of megafauna (Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata, Paragorgia arborea, Primnoa resedaeformis, Mycale lingua, Geodia baretti, Acesta excavata and fish) were quantified throughout 9 manned submersible video transects from 3 reef complexes (Røst Reef, Sotbakken Reef and Traena Reef) on the Norwegian margin. Substrate type (coral structure, rubble, exposed hardground or soft sediment) was also recorded. Variations in the densities of these fauna (with respect to both reef complex and substrate type) were investigated, with spatial covariance between species assessed. For the majority of fauna investigated, densities varied by both reef and substrate. Spatial covariance indicated that some species may be utilising similar habitat niches, but that minor environmental differences may favour colonisation by one or other at a particular reef. Fish densities were generally higher in regions with biogenic substrate (coral structure and coral rubble substrates) than in areas of soft or hardground substrate. Further, fish were more abundant at the northerly Sotbakken Reef at time of study than elsewhere. Community structure varied by reef, and therefore management plans aimed at maintaining the biodiversity of reef ecosystems on the Norwegian margin should take this lack of homogeneity into account.

Beschreibung: The Cap de Creus continental shelf and Cap de Creus canyon are located in the southern most sector of the Gulf of Lions, in the northwestern Mediterranean. The Cap de Creus continental shelf contains sandy and muddy sediments and an abrupt morpho­ logy, with rocky outcrops, relict bioherms, erosive features, and planar bedforms. The Cap de Creus canyon breaches the shelf at a depth of 110 m and denotes a marked dif­ ference in the morphology between the northern and the southern flank, reflecting a different depositional regime. The most common substrates correspond to coarse and medium sands (28%) and silty sediments (40%). The most common megabenthic assemblages of the shelf correspond to the communities of "offshore detritic" (31.95%) and "coastal terrigenous muds" (36.99%), mostly dominated by sea pens, alcyonaceans, and ceriantharians. The northern flank of the Cap de Creus canyon is predominantly depositional, whereas the southern flank is erosional. Rocky outcrops provide the sub­ stratum for cold­water coral (CWC) communities' development, in which the white coral Madrepora oculata is the most abundant species.

Beschreibung: Despite coelacanths, Latimeria chalumnae, being listed as either endangered by CITES or critically endangered by the IUCN, their population size within South Africa is unknown and still needs to be estimated. Their conservation status unfortunately excludes the use of conventional tagging to mark individual animals for a possible mark–recapture experiment. This study shows that because coelacanths have a unique spot patterning it is possible to quickly and accurately identify specific individuals photographically using computer-aided identification software. Without any manual intervention by an operator, the software accurately identified between 56 and 92% of the individuals. Indentification success increased to 100% if the operator could also manually select from other potential matching photographs. It was also shown that fish exhibiting a yaw angle not exceeding 60° could be accurately identified in photographs, although the percentage of fish correctly identified without operator-intervention decreased rapidly with increasing yaw angle. Computer-aided identification should therefore facilitate future coelacanth research as it is both efficient and accurate while also reducing potential stress on the animals observed.

Beschreibung: This study presents the first multi-scale survey of bacterial diversity in cold-water coral reefs, spanning a total of five observational levels including three spatial scales. It demonstrates that bacterial communities in cold-water coral reefs are structured by multiple factors acting at different spatial scales, which has fundamental implications for the monitoring of microbial diversity and function in those ecosystems.

Beschreibung: The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) with sulphate, an area currently generating great interest in microbiology, is accomplished by consortia of methanotrophic archaea (ANME) and sulphate-reducing bacteria1, 2. The enzyme activating methane in methanotrophic archaea has tentatively been identified as a homologue of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) that catalyses the methane-forming step in methanogenic archaea3, 4. Here we report an X-ray structure of the 280 kDa heterohexameric ANME-1 MCR complex. It was crystallized uniquely from a protein ensemble purified from consortia of microorganisms collected with a submersible from a Black Sea mat catalysing AOM with sulphate4. Crystals grown from the heterogeneous sample diffract to 2.1 Å resolution and consist of a single ANME-1 MCR population, demonstrating the strong selective power of crystallization. The structure revealed ANME-1 MCR in complex with coenzyme M and coenzyme B, indicating the same substrates for MCR from methanotrophic and methanogenic archaea. Differences between the highly similar structures of ANME-1 MCR and methanogenic MCR include a F430 modification, a cysteine-rich patch and an altered post-translational amino acid modification pattern, which may tune the enzymes for their functions in different biological contexts.

Beschreibung: Geodia species north of 60°N in the Atlantic appeared in the literature for the first time when Bowerbank described Geodia barretti and G. macandrewii in 1858 from western Norway. Since then, a number of species have been based on material from various parts of the region: G. simplex, Isops phlegraei, I. pallida, I. sphaeroides, Synops pyriformis, G. parva, G. normani, G. atlantica, Sidonops mesotriaena (now called G. hentscheli), and G. simplicissima. In addition to these 12 nominal species, four species described from elsewhere are claimed to have been identified in material from the northeast Atlantic, namely G. nodastrella and G. cydonium (and its synonyms Cydonium muelleri and Geodia gigas ). In this paper, we revise the boreo-arctic Geodia species using morphological, molecular, and biogeographical data. We notably compare northwest and northeast Atlantic specimens. Biological data (reproduction, biochemistry, microbiology, epibionts) for each species are also reviewed. Our results show that there are six valid species of boreo-arctic Atlantic Geodia while other names are synonyms or mis-identifications. Geodia barretti, G. atlantica, G. macandrewii, and G. hentscheli are well established and widely distributed. The same goes for Geodia phlegraei, but this species shows a striking geographical and bathymetric variation, which led us to recognize two species, G. phlegraei and G. parva(here resurrected). Some Geodia are arctic species (G. hentscheli, G. parva), while others are typically boreal (G. atlantica, G. barretti, G. phlegraei , G. macandrewii). No morphological differences were found between specimens from the northeast and northwest Atlantic, except for G. parva . The Folmer cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) fragment is unique for every species and invariable over their whole distribution range, except for G. barretti which had two haplotypes. 18S is unique for four species but cannot discriminate G. phlegraei and G. parva. Two keys to the boreo-arctic Geodia are included, one based on external morphology, the other based on spicule morphology.