ALBERT

Description: The holoplanktonic family Miraciidae (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) is revised and a key to the four monotypic genera presented. Amended diagnoses are given for Miracia Dana, Oculosetella Dahl and Macrosetella A. Scott, based on complete redescriptions of their respective type species M. efferata Dana, 1849, O. gracilis (Dana, 1849) and M. gracilis (Dana, 1847). A fourth genus Distioculus gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate Miracia minor T. Scott, 1894. The occurrence of two size-morphs of M. gracilis in the Red Sea is discussed, and reliable distribution records of the problematic O. gracilis are compiled. The first nauplius of M. gracilis is described in detail and changes in the structure of the antennule, P2 endopod and caudal ramus during copepodid development are illustrated. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Miracia is closest to the miraciid ancestor and placed Oculosetella-Macrosetella at the terminal branch of the cladogram. Various aspects of miraciid biology are reviewed, including reproduction, postembryonic development, vertical and geographical distribution, bioluminescence, photoreception and their association with filamentous Cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium).

Description: The stomach contents of 723 Loligo vulgaris and 440 Loligo forbesi caught in the northwestern Spanish Atlantic waters have been examined. The diets of both species are described and compared. Loligo vulgaris shows 28 different types of prey belonging to four groups (Teleostei, Crustacea, Cephalopoda and Polychaeta) and Loligo forbesi 27 different types of prey belonging to three groups (Teleostei, Crustacea and Cephalopoda). Both species catch similar prey species but in different proportions. Cannibalism was observed in both species. Estimated prey sizes were smaller than squid sizes. No differences in feeding habits of males and females of both species were observed, but females seem to increase food intake during maturation. No significant changes were found in the diet of Loligo vulgaris within the size (DML) range studied (65–465 mm). Importance of cephalopods increased and importance of fish decreased in the diet of Loligo forbesi with growth (65–685 mm). Diet and food intake varied with seasons in both species. Diets of both squids were significantly different. Los contenidos estomacales de 723 Loligo vulgaris y 440 Loligo forbesi capturados en aguas de Galicia (Noroeste de España) fueron examinados. Se describe y compara la dieta de ambas especies. Se identificaron 28 tipos de presa diferentes en Loligo vulgaris que pertenecen a cuatro grupos (Teleostei, Crustacea, Cephalopoda y Polychaeta); y 27 tipos de presa en Loligo forbesi, pertenecientes a tres grupos (Teleostei, Crustacea y Cephalopoda). Ambas especies comen pres as similares, pero en proporciones diferentes. En ambas especies se observó canibalismo. La talla de las presas fue menor que la de los calamares. No se encontraron diferencias en la dieta entre machos y hembras en ambas especies, pero se observó que las hembras incrementan su tasa de ingestión durante la maduración. No se hallaron cambios significativos en la dieta de Loligo vulgaris en función de la talla (DML) dentro del rango de tamanos estudiado (65–465 mm). En Loligo forbesi, los cefalópodos aumentaron y los peces disminuyeron en importancia con la talla (65–685 mm DML). La dieta y la tasta de ingestión de ambas especies varió con la época del ano. Las dietas de ambas especies fueron significativemente diferentes entre sí.

Description: Individual polychlorinated biphenyl (CB) congeners in adipose and whole blood tissues of a capacitor manufacture worker (occupational/accidental exposure) and of the general population were determined. Nondestructive sample cleanup and multidimensional gas chromatography-electron capture detection (MDGC-ECD) techniques were applied. Special attention was given to the toxicologically relevant congeners CB-77, CB-126, CB-169, CB-105, CB-114, CB-118, CB-156, CB-167, and CB-189 (IUPAC). Lipid-based tissue contents of sigma CBs were higher in the occupationally/accidentally exposed worker (adipose = 7,000 ng/g; whole blood = 11 ng/g) than in the general population (adipose = 300 ng/g; whole blood = 1.9 ng/g). Among the non-ortho Cl CBs, CB-77 was below detection limit (〈 1.0 pg/g). The contents of CB-126 for the capacitor manufacture worker were 2,000 and 3 pg/g, and in the general population were 100 and 2 pg/g for adipose and whole blood, respectively. The corresponding data for CB-169 were 3,500 and 4 for adipose and whole blood, respectively, in the exposed worker, and 40 and 2 for adipose and whole blood, respectively, in the general population. Congeners with highest contents were CB-153, CB-138, CB-180, CB-170, and CB-187. These congeners possess chlorine substitution patterns, making them resistant to metabolism. X/153 ratios suggest that both PB and 3-MC type cytochrome P-450 enzymes were induced in the exposed worker, as well as in the general population.

Description: The cause of decadal climate variability over the North Pacific Ocean and North America is investigated by the analysis of data from a multidecadal integration with a state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere model and observations. About one-third of the low-frequency climate variability in the region of interest can be attributed to a cycle involving unstable air-sea interactions between the subtropical gyre circulation in the North Pacific and the Aleutian low-pressure system. The existence of this cycle provides a basis for long-range climate forecasting over the western United States at decadal time scales.

Description: A coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM is being developed for use in seasonal forecasting. As part of the development work, a number of experiments have been made to explore some of the sensitivities of the coupled model system. The overall heat balance of the tropics is found to be very sensitive to convective cloud cover. Adjusting the cloud parameterization to produce stable behaviour of the coupled model also leads to better agreement between model radiative fluxes and satellite data. A further sensitivity is seen to changes in low-level marine stratus, which is under-represented in the initial model experiments. An increase in this cloud in the coupled model produces a small improvement in both the global mean state and the phase of the east Pacific annual cycle. The computational expense of investigating such small changes is emphasized. An indication of model sensitivity to surface albedo is also presented. The sensitivity of the coupled GCM to initial conditions is investigated. The model is very sensitive, with tiny perturbations able to determine El Niño or non-El Niño conditions just six months later. This large sensitivity may be related to the relatively weak amplitude of the model ENSO cycle.

Description: ECHO is a new global coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (GCM), consisting of the Hamburg version of the European Centre atmospheric GCM (ECHAM) and the Hamburg Primitive Equation ocean GCM (HOPE). We performed a 20-year integration with ECHO. Climate drift is significant, but typical annual mean errors in sea surface temperature (SST) do not exceed 2° in the open oceans. Near the boundaries, however, SST errors are considerably larger. The coupled model simulates an irregular ENSO cycle in the tropical Pacific, with spatial patterns similar to those observed. The variability, however, is somewhat weaker relative to observations. ECHO also simulates significant interannual variability in mid-latitudes. Consistent with observations, variability over the North Pacific can be partly attributed to remote forcing from the tropics. In contrast, the interannual variability over the North Atlantic appears to be generated locally.

Description: This paper describes the evolution of the former Tethys ocean in terms of successive positions of the involved plates, their boundaries, and the oceanic and continental elements they bore. Most of the past positions for the major continents are obtained from published data on the kinematics of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. As they do not cover the complete time span and area under study, additional solutions for the missing parts are proposed on the basis of paleomagnetic and geologic data. A revised reconstruction of Eastern Gondwana and a reappraisal of the early history of the Indian ocean is presented, as well as a discussion of the Pangea megashear concept which applies to the relations between Gondawa and Laurussia during latest Palaeozoic to Mid-Triassic times. Past positions of continental blocks, basins and associated plate boundaries within the now disappeared Tethys ocean, are determined through the kinematic inversion of the Alpine chains interpreted in terms of break-up, oceanic spreading and drift, subduction and collision. A quantitative solution is obtained by associating Eulerian rotation parameters to any relative displacement, computing their combination, then adjusting until a complete coherency through time and space is obtained. Our method puts emphasis on the former positions of the plate boundaries in the Tethys, and stresses the drastically different organisation of Tethys west and east of a fundamental triple junction located in its Mediterranean part. A symmetric Atlantic part of Tethys, governed by a mid-ocean diverging boundary, was thus linked eastwards to an asymmetric “Transit” part of Tethys where southern diverging boundaries and northern converging boundaries defined a Transit plate (or group of plates). Besides several reorganisations through southward shift of these boundaries, the successive (or coeval) transit plates systematically exhibited the same north-south asymmetry responsible for the northward migration of the various continental blocks they carried, which were successively detached from Gondwana to become accreted to Eurasia. The transit process, while an essential element of the Tethyan tectonic pattern, was not restricted to lifetime of Tethys, as it is still active nowadays and was already active during the Palaeozoic. Nevertheless, its association with the Atlantic Tethys diverging boundary is typical for the lifetime of Tethys, both constituting a “Tethys plate pattern”, in opposition to the present-day and to Hercynian “Anti-Tethys plate pattern” where a converging boundary is and was associated with the transit plate system. Two pre-eminent tectonic events, the Late Triassic switchover from the Anti-Tethys pattern to the Tethys pattern, and the Late Cretaceous switchover back to the Anti-Tethys pattern, decided birth and death of the Tethys ocean.

Description: Site fidelity and dispersal of juvenile and sexually mature adults was investigated at the largest southern African gannetry on Bird Island, Algoa Bay, where a minimum of 65000 airs occupy approximatel 2 ha at a mean density of 2,85 nests per m2. Based on 512 ring recoveries and live retraps of known-aged birds of this colony, immature and non-breeding adult gannets dispersed widely along the coasts o Africa, reaching Maputo Bay (southern Mozambique) on the eastern side of the continent and the Namibian Skeleton Coast on the western side. Very few birds flew farther. There were conspicuously few ring recoveries at 400–500 km straight-line distance east from Bird Island, corresponding with the Pondoland coast in Transkei. A similar drop was observed in the west for the Tsitsikamma coast and the stretch of coast from Cape St. Blaize to Cape Infanta. In these regions reporting by members of the public is presumed to be low. either because the rocky coast is inaccessible or because of socioeconomic reasons. The geographical spread of the ring recoveries suggested a possible range contraction of the species between the 1950's and the period 1978–1993 but the nature of the data prevented a test of this hypothesis. No evidence was found that gannets from Bird Island breed or roost at other southern African colonies as a matter of habit. On the contrary, all survivors of post-fledgling dispersal eventually returned to their native colony, where they exhibited pronounced fidelity to the site where they hatched from the egg. Based on multiple retraps of 862 known-age individuals, 71.7 % of young adults took over vacant sites in the immediate vicinity of their original nest, 8,1% moved once but were faithful to their new site and in 20,2% of all cases faithfulness to the original site could not be shown. Moreover, in subsequent years edge birds did not vacate their sites to move towards the center, refuting the hypothesis that fringes are physically inferior breeding sites.

Description: This article introduces a resampling procedure called the stationary bootstrap as a means of calculating standard errors of estimators and constructing confidence regions for parameters based on weakly dependent stationary observations. Previously, a technique based on resampling blocks of consecutive observations was introduced to construct confidence intervals for a parameter of the m-dimensional joint distribution of m consecutive observations, where m is fixed. This procedure has been generalized by constructing a “blocks of blocks” resampling scheme that yields asymptotically valid procedures even for a multivariate parameter of the whole (i.e., infinite-dimensional) joint distribution of the stationary sequence of observations. These methods share the construction of resampling blocks of observations to form a pseudo-time series, so that the statistic of interest may be recalculated based on the resampled data set. But in the context of applying this method to stationary data, it is natural to require the resampled pseudo-time series to be stationary (conditional on the original data) as well. Although the aforementioned procedures lack this property, the stationary procedure developed here is indeed stationary and possesses other desirable properties. The stationary procedure is based on resampling blocks of random length, where the length of each block has a geometric distribution. In this article, fundamental consistency and weak convergence properties of the stationary resampling scheme are developed.

Description: A large, discrete aggregation of squid was sampled at short intervals by means of jigging, midwater trawling and purse-seining. Differences among basic parameters of the population (e.g. length frequency) indicate that jigging is a more selective, and therefore biased, method of sampling than midwater trwaling or purse-seining. This has important consequences for stock assessments that take commercial catches into account. The selectivity curve indicates that squid of mantle lenghts (ML) 28-33cm are over-represented (in terms of the situation in the population) in fisheries conducted by jigging and that squid 〈26 and 〉34cm ML are under-represented if purse-seine results are considered to be representative of the population.

Description: The occurrence and distribution of dinoflagellate resting cysts in Recent sediments was investigated at 9 locations in Kiel Bight, Baltic Sea. The assemblage comprised 25 known cyst species and 4 unknown cyst types and is characterized by the dominance of Protoperidinium cf. divergens with a maximal abundance of 1695 living cysts/cm3 in the upper half centimeter. Cysts of the potentially toxic dinoflagellates of the Alexandrium excavatum/tamarense group and A. minutum were scarce. Micro-reticulate resting cysts of the toxic, unarmoured Gymnodinium catenatum, whose motile cell has not been recorded in Northern European waters, are reported for the first time from Recent sediments of the Baltic Sea. In the top 2-cm of sediment up to 1200 living dinoflagellate cysts/cm3 were found and the following trends were noted: Cysts were primarily associated with sediments dominated by mud, sandy stations exhibited the lowest cyst abundance. Highest cyst concentrations were found at the deepest stations and the small-scale vertical distribution ofcysts usually exhibited maximum concentrations below the sediment surface. Empty cysts constituted 16.5–64.0% of total cyst abundance. These results suggest that the spatial distribution of several cyst species is controlled by water circulation patterns. The wide distribution ofliving and empty cysts of Peridinium dalei, Protoperidinium denticulatum and P. punctulatum and corresponding germination experiments suggest that the motile forms, which have not previously been recorded in the area, are common members of the plankton community in the western Baltic Sea. The cysts of Gonyaulax polyedra, P. dalei and Protoceratium reticulatum exhibited a reduced length of processes compared to individuals from marine habitats.

Description: In situ caging experiments showed that both littorinid snails and gammarid amphipods exerted minimal effects on the suite of algae comprising the canopy of littoral fringe tide pools dominated by Fucus distichus. In the absence of grazers, the Fucus canopy was dramatically reduced by fatal endophyte infections. Among the 10dependent variables making up the algal species and forms at the substratum level below the canopy, 3 were highly affected by grazing. The germlings of F. distiehus were greatly reduced by littorinids. Gamrnarids also reduced germling cover, but were less effective. In addition, the two grazer guilds interactively reduced the cover of algae belonging to the Uniseriate functional form at the substratum level. Sheet/Tube form algae were reduced in cover only by littorinids. Other forms, including calcareous crusts, thalli of Chondrus crispus and 3 Cladophora species were unaffected by grazing. There was no indication of food resource partitioning between littorinids and gammarids.

Description: Long-range global climate forecasts have been made by use of a model for predicting a tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) in tandem with an atmospheric general circulation model. The SST is predicted first at long lead times into the future. These ocean forecasts are then used to force the atmospheric model and so produce climate forecasts at lead times of the SST forecasts. Prediction of the wintertime 500mb height, surface air temperature and precipitation for seven large climatic events of the 1970 1990s by this two-tiered technique agree well in general with observations over many regions of the globe. The levels of agreement are high enough in some regions to have practical utility.

Description: The Deep Basin Experiment (DBE) is an international effort and apart of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment with the principal objective of improving our knowledge of the subthermocline circulation. The DBE fieldwork is focussed on the Brazil Basin and this report is concemed with a moored array situated along its southem boundary which was installed in early 1991 to measure the inflow and outflow to the Basin and to investigate the Brazil Current near 30S. This moored array was a joint undertaking by the Institut für Meereskunde of the University of Kiel and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Moorings were deployed on Meteor Cruise 15, leg I and retrieved on Meteor cruise 22, legs 3 and 4. A total of 57 conventional current meters and two Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers were set on 13 moarings with some concentration within the Brazil Current and the Vema Channel. CTDs were taken at each mooring site as well as in between. Some of the recovered instruments were reset in the Hunter Channel, a suspected additional connection between the Argentine Basin and the Brazil Basin. A later report will summarize this data after it is recovered in May 1994.

Description: The present study contributes new information on the cephalopods off Namibia, contains the first record of Ornithoteuthis volatilis (Sasaki, 1915) in the Atlantic, and adds records of six species in the Benguela Current and three species in Namibian waters. The presence of certain species seldom encountered in the Benguela Current has been confirmed. A compilation of the cephalopod fauna off Namibia had also been included, listing 65 species. Additional morphological data on Stoloteuthis leucoptera, Lycoteuthis lorigera, Architeuthis sp., Pholidoteuthis boschmai, Ornithoteuthis volatilis, Eledone nigra, and Graneledone sp. have been provided. The status of the genus Lycoteuthis has been reviewed in the light of the first collection of Lycoteuthis lorigera (Steenstrup, 1875) males in the Atlantic, and Lycoteuthis diadema (Chun, 1900) has been considered to be a synonym for Lycoteuthis lorigera

Description: During the years 1989–1993 an intensive collection of fishes from the aphotic zone (below 150 m) of the northern part of the Gulf of Aqaba was conducted. This survey recorded 69 fish species, 8 elasmobranchs, and 61 teleosts, belonging to 45 families. Fifteen species are endemic to the Red Sea: Mustelus mosis, Narcine bentuviai, Rhinobatos punctifer, Ophichthus echeloides, Rhynchoconger sp., Physiculus marisrubri, Ostichthys hypsipterygion sufensis, Pterygotrigla sp., Uranoscopus marisrubri, Parascolopsis sp.1 and sp. 2, Atrobucca geniae, Chromis pelloura, Samariscus sp., Thamnaconus modestoides erythraeensis. Eleven species are new records for the Red Sea: Gymnothorax johnsoni, Rhynchoconger sp., Synodus doaki, Pterygotrigla sp., Chelidoperca pleurospilus, Carangoides equula, Parascolopsis sp. 1 and sp. 2, Bodianus leucostictus, Paracaesio sordidus, and Samariscus sp. Two species, Cociella crocodilo and Parascolopsis eriomma, are first substantiated records for the Red Sea. None of the species recorded in this list is considered conventional deep-sea fishes. The ichthyofauna of the aphotic zone of the Gulf of Aqaba is composed of species of shallower origin.

Description: Tests on the effects of two herbivore groups (littorinid snails and gammarid amphipods), on algal succession in high intertidal tidepools dominated by Fucus distichus showed that the grazer groups exert different grazing pressures on the algae. The differences can be related to the feeding morphologies ofthe two grazer guilds. The scraping, microphagous littorinid snails prevent the establishment of both micro- and rnacroalgae at the microscopic level. The biting, macrophagous gammarid amphipods are ineffective at grazing microalgae and prostrate macroalgae from the substratum, but exert a considerable influence on the erect macroalgae which escape littorinid grazing. Despite differences in feeding mechanisms, the magnitude of the effect of the two grazer groups on the canopy cover of macroalgae is similar.

Description: A new species of Siboglinum is reported from off the Tejo mouth, Portugal. It was dredged from c. 1100 m. It resembles S. atlanticum and certain other species, in having paired white glandular stripes on the forepart. In the posterior trunk region we found small gram-negative internal symbiotic bacteria. All described species of the genus Siboglinum are equipped with a single tentacle, but one of our specimens bears two tentacles.

Description: Most atmospheric parameters relevant to microbe dissemination into the atmosphere, including aerial transport and deposition, can be monitored by temperature and humidity, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and wind through current meteorological and other satellite systems. A wide range of these parameters are already extracted and distributed operationally on a regional or global basis like cloudiness, cloud height, cloud motion, winds, surface temperature and atmospheric temperature profiles, and precipitation estimates, Some of these products like cloud motion, winds, and temperature profiles enter weather forecast models for initialization purposes. These models predict the global state of the atmosphere (some include precipitation and cloudiness) quite reliably for several days. Thus, an important part of the necessary technical framework for global disease spread and transmission monitoring exists.

Description: During the ‘Meteor’ Expedition 13 in July and August 1990 to the northern part of the Norwegian Sea off west Spitsbergen, 7 stations with a depth of 2000 m or more were sampled with Agassiz trawl or hyperbenthos sledge, 14 more with a large box corer. Sponges were found at 6 of the trawl stations and in 2 box cores. A total of 19 species occurred, most of which were new to the area. Eight of the species were encountered more often than the other 11. Literature review and check of unpublished samples showed that by distribution, frequency of occurrence or abundance these species can be defined as the typical sponge association of the Norwegian and Greenland abyssal sea. This sponge association has a wide occurrence over the deep Norwegian-Greenland seas and parts of the Arctic basins. The analysis of substrate utilization of the 8 core species shows that all of them are able to colonize soft bottom, even some that previously had been considered to be dependent on hard substrate exclusively. Alternative substrate utilization and, in some species, the adoption of an infaunallife style are judged to be major reasons for the success of these species in the deep sea. The infaunal life style of the species Thenea abyssorum, Trichostemma sol and Tentorium semisuberites is documented and population structure data are given for the first time.

Description: Climatological data sets are used to estimate the amount of water changing temperature and salinity at the sea-surface owing to air-sea exchanges. Considering this conversion as a function of sea-surface temperature and salinity leads to the definition of a conversion vector, which represents mass sources and sinks for each water type. The vector representation shows graphically the way the shape of the temperature-salinity relation is driven at the surface by the air-sea heat and fresh water fluxes.

Description: Long-range global climate forecasts were made by use of a model for predicting a tropical Pacific sea-surface temperature (SST) in tandem with an atmospheric general circulation model. The SST is predicted first at long lead times into the future. These ocean forecasts are then used to force the atmospheric model and so produce climate forecasts at lead times of the SST forecasts. Prediction of seven large climatic events of the 1970s to 1990s by this technique are in good agreement with observations over many regions of the globe.

Description: The cephalopod fauna of the Sea of Marmara was investigated during the years 1991-1992. Three species, Sepia orbignyana Ferussac, 1826; Rondeletiola minor Naef, 1912; and Todaropsis eblanae (Ball, 1841), are hereby recorded for the first time from the Sea of Marmara.

Description: Fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa collected from various storage sites in the male and female squids were examined by inseminated eggs in the presence or absence of gelatinous substances of the oviducal gland origin. Over 90% of the eggs were fertilized by the spermatozoa collected from the female's seminal receptacle regardless of the presence or absence of the gelatinous substance. Elevation of the chorion and the formation of perivitelline space was observed only in the jellied eggs. All jellyless eggs without perivitelline space died in 4 days after insemination. Spermatozoa collected from the spermatophore in the male's accessory gland could fertilize the majority of the eggs. On the other hand, those from the male's vas deferens could fertilize only 30–50% of both the jellied and jellyless eggs. It may be concluded from these experiments that the gelatinous substance of the oviducal gland origin has nothing to do with fertilization. However, it is essential for the elevation of the chorion and the formation of the perivitelline space. It may also be concluded that squid spermatozoa become fertile before they are transferred to the female's seminal receptacle.

Description: Mature males of Histioteuthis atlantica are described. They differ from immature animals mainly in the unique photophore pattern of the distal portion of the mantle, i.e. in the presence of densely set, lensless photophores. These photophores resemble those on H. elongata, but they are smaller and much more dense on male H. atlantica. The occurrence of the photophore pattern in approximately the same dense concentration on the dorsum as well as the ventrum is unique in the family Histioteuthidae.

Description: The beaks of 9,994 cephalopods of 61 species, obtained mainly from chick regurgitations of wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans L.) at Gough, Auckland, Antipodes, Prince Edward and Macquarie Islands and South Georgia, were used to specify and calculate the biomass of cephalopods consumed. Histioteuthidae were most important by numbers and biomass at Gough Island (in warmest seas), but Onycboteuthidae increasingly superseded them southwards; Kondakovia longimana formed 59 to 75% of biomass eaten at the three localities nearest the Antarctic Polar Front. Other important families were Octopoteuthidae, Cranchiidae, Architeuthidae (juveniles) and Ommastrephidae (South Georgia only). Most frequently eaten were Histioteuthis atlantica 13.7%, Galiteuthis glacialis 12.4%, H. eltaninae 12.0% and Kondakovia longimana 11.6%. Wandering albatrosses rearing chicks can forage at least to 3,000 km in a single foray, and may exploit an important food source about 1200 km from the nest (as in the probable commensalism of South Georgian birds with the Falkland Islands fishery). They feed, sometimes opportunistically, on cephalopods active or moribund at the surface, or discarded or lost by trawlers, cetaceans or seals. Vertically migrating cephalopods, especially bioluminescent species, are disproportionately frequent in their non-commensal diet, suggesting that they often feed at night.

Description: A link is proposed between the processes that led to the evolution of large species of squid and the highly variable, cyclic recruitment seen in squid fisheries. Maximum growth requires maximal feeding and minimal routine metabolism at optimum temperatures, which decrease as squid grow. Topographically induced upwelling zones, inshore of western boundary currents, provide productive environments with appropriate temperatures for all life stages. Most squid are small and live in the tropics or subtropics; locomotor constraints prevent them from swimming long distances. Long annual migrations to spawn upstream in current systems require short-lived squids to maximize rates of growth. Therefore, such systems provide the opportunity and a powerful selective advantage for large size and rapid growth. Increased fecundity and cannibalism provide additional directional selection for large individuals. Current systems show food production peaks (blooms); paralarval release must match these to increase survival. Because squid are semelparous, disruption of delicately balanced lifecycles by physical events can virtually annihilate stocks. Recovery probably requires that populations of large squid "re-evolve" from smaller, more-stable tropical populations of small squid. This recovery phase may extend the "down-side" of abundance cycles. Studies of squid/current systems have focused on western boundary currents, but the Illex complex also associates with eastern boundaries. Such populations are generally smaller than in larger systems, supporting the hypothesis, but more detailed comparisons are required.

Description: During a cruise in March 1988 dedicated to investigation of the marine resources of South Africa's continental slope, 62 species in 22 families of Cephalopoda were collected from the Cape Canyon and Cape Point Valley. Multivariate analysis revealed a clear distinction between cephalopods of the upper and lower continental slope in both benthic and epibenthic habitats. Todaropsis eblanae and Todarodes angolensis were indicator species for the upper slope benthic, from 300 to 500 m, but on the lower slope, in 700–900 m of water, they were replaced by Histioteuthis miranda and Opisthoteuthis agassizii. In the epibenthic, both upper and lower slopes were dominated by Abraliopsis gilchristi and Lycoteuthis ?diadema, but other species characteristic of the lower slope were the oceanic species Mastigoteuthis hjorti, Ctenopteryx sicula and Taonius sp. A. Cranchia scabra indicated the presence of oceanic water at stations 700–900 m deep. Other species of significance in the catches were Todarodes filippovae, Histioteuthis macrohista, Rossia enigmatica and Bathypolypus valdiviae. Species affinities indicate that the cephalopod fauna of the southern African continental slope includes the following zoogeographic components: southern African endemic, circum-Subantarctic species associated with Antarctic Intermediate Water, circum-global southern tropical/subtropical, tropical Indo-Pacific and cosmopolitan tropical/subtropical.

Description: Literature on trophic relationships in the Benguela ecosystem has stressed the importance of cephalopods as prey of groundfish. The groundfish community of the shelf and upper slope of southern Africa is dominated by the Cape hakes, and the results presented (1984–1991) confirm that both species of hake are important predators of cephalopods, especially taking into consideration the abundance of hake in the ecosystem. However, geographic, seasonal and species variability are evident in the patterns observed. The main prey species are Sepia spp. (predominantly Sepia australis), Loligo vulgaris reynaudii, Todaropsis eblanae and Lycoteuthis ?diadema. The last-named is an important food organism for fish. Its systematic status needs revision, however. Qualitative results of studies of cephalopod predation are also provided for kingklip and monkfish.

Description: Cephalopods of importance in the Benguela ecosystem include Loligo vulgaris reynaudii, Todarodes angolensis, Todaropsis eblanae, Lycoteuthis ?diadema, Sepia australis, Octopus spp. (up to three species) and Argonauta spp., and possibly also Ocythoe tuberculata and Rossia enigmatica. Species which may prove important as a result of further research are Lolliguncula mercatoris, Ommastrephes bartramii, Todarodes filippovae, Histioteuthis miranda and Abraliopsis gilchristi. "Importance" is defined on the basis of "survey abundance" (including commercial fisheries) and their trophic links with other organisms. Use of the latter criterion indicates that Sepia australis, Todaropsis eblanae and Lycoteuthis ?diadema are sufficiently abundant to be exploited by fisheries. Unknown factors are dispersal, availability and market considerations. The only examples of cephalopods feeding on commercial species of fish are Loligo v. reynaudii feeding on anchovy Engraulis capensis and Cape hakes Merluccius capensis and/or M. paradoxus in the southern Benguela and Todarodes angolensis preying on Cape hake in the northern Benguela. Such feeding is opportunistic and is not believed to threaten the fish stocks. Predators of cephalopods are mostly opportunistic, switching to other prey when cephalopods are not available. There is no evidence that such predators pose a threat to the Loligo fisheries. The opportunistic nature of cephalopods as prey and predators makes quantification of predation (in both directions) difficult. Data for such quantification are, as yet, unavailable.

Description: The results of ichthyoplankton surveys carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Pesca (INAPE) in the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone (AUCFZ) in summer 1980 and the winters of 1980–1982 are presented. In addition, the results of joint research with INIDEP, the Argentine and Japan Fisheries Agency, on larvae, juveniles and adults of the short-finned squid Illex argentinus carried out in winter 1989 are given, as are data obtained during the joint sardine and anchovy recruitment project carried out by R.V. Meteor in November/December 1989. The short-finned squid Illex argentinus is the most important cephalopod resource of the area, and an extended fishery is carried out on the Patagonian shelf and in the proximity of the Falkland Islands. The fishing season in the AUCFZ, for pre-spawning and spawning animals, extends from early autumn to winter (March–August). Abundance of rhynchoteuthion larvae (417–485 larvae·10 m−2) was greatest in winter in surface temperatures of 12,1–16,9°C and surface salinities of 34,8 – 35,2 × 10−3. The distribution of the larvae is related to the western boundary of the Brazil Current and the convergence front.

Description: The question whether the chokka squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii resource can be managed effectively is examined in the light of developments in the fishery and knowledge of the resource gathered in recent years. The history of the fishery since its inception in 1985, management controls and the current state of knowledge of stock identity, distribution, seasonality and abundance, life cycle and population dynamics are reviewed as a background to a discussion of management alternatives. Long-term measures, such as fleet limitation, seasonal closures and de facto closed areas and size limits, all appropriate in the early stages of a fishery when knowledge is limited, should be replaced by more-flexible alternatives as knowledge improves. Methods of stock assessment, stock-recruitment studies and further basic biological analyses are recognized as being crucial to improving management methods. An explanation embracing physical oceanographic features and plankton productivity in the vicinity of the spawning grounds is advanced for the mechanisms underlying hatchling survival. The possible contribution of trophic studies to squid management is recognized. Effective management of the chokka squid resource is concluded to be possible provided that the specific areas needing attention be addressed by means of goal-orientated research. Rational, but not necessarily optimal, management decisions can, however, be made even in the absence of stock-recruitment data, by the employment of common-sense measures which generally include some form of effort control.

Description: The results of ichthyoplankton surveys carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Pesca (INAPE) in the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone (AUCFZ) in summer 1980 and the winters of 1980–1982 are presented. In addition, the results of joint research with INIDEP, the Argentine and Japan Fisheries Agency, on larvae, juveniles and adults of the short-finned squid Illex argentinus carried out in winter 1989 are given, as are data obtained during the joint sardine and anchovy recruitment project carried out by R.V. Meteor in November/December 1989. The short-finned squid Illex argentinus is the most important cephalopod resource of the area, and an extended fishery is carried out on the Patagonian shelf and in the proximity of the Falkland Islands. The fishing season in the AUCFZ, for pre-spawning and spawning animals, extends from early autumn to winter (March–August). Abundance of rhynchoteuthion larvae (417–485 larvae·10 m−2) was greatest in winter in surface temperatures of 12,1–16,9°C and surface salinities of 34,8 – 35,2 × 10−3. The distribution of the larvae is related to the western boundary of the Brazil Current and the convergence front.

Description: The population size and breeding success of Emperor Penguins Aptenodytes forsteri at the Auster and Taylor Glacier colonies were estimated during the 1988 breeding season. At Auster a total of 10 963 pairs produced about 6350 fledglings for a breeding success of 58%. At Taylor Glacier about 2900 pairs raised 1774 fledglings for a breeding success of 61%. Fledglings left Taylor Glacier over a period of 33 days at a mean mass of 10.56 kg.

Description: This paper presents an idea on the possible structuring effect of hex actinellids on Antarctic sponge associations. To this end, information derived from underwater photography performed on the eastern Weddell Sea shelf is reported and original trawl data are presented. Underwater photography shows the existence of different sponge associations; species poor associations are connected to soft bottom, species rich associations exist on substrates characterized by bryozoan debris and especially sponge spicule mats. The trawl. catches show differences in the population structure of a hexactinellid sponge, Rassella racovitzae Topsent at two stations, distinguishable from each other by substrate structure. On average small and therefore probably young specimens were found on bryozoan debris, while a population with larger and probably older specimens was found on solid hexactinellid spicule mats. These observations form the basis for the hypothesis that hexactinellid sponges are a major biological structuring agent for Antarctic sponge associations; they colonize soft substrate and bryozoan debris dominated areas and subsequently change the quality of the substrate by spicule deposition. The ensuing spicule mats are a suitable settling ground for a large number of demosponge species dependent on hard substrates. Mass occurrences of hexactinellids are also found in areas other than Antarctica. The phenomenon recognized in the Weddell Sea probably occurs more widely spread.

Description: A method is proposed for cloud detection over sea using a single infrared channel of a high spatial resolution satellite radiometer. The method combines a spatial coherence test and an absolute threshold test for the temperature field. The threshold for the second test is automatically determined by a histogram analysis of data which were preselected by the coherence test. The coherence test used differs from the classical standard deviation test in the way of the test value computation: the weight of the pixel to be investigated is increased. A simulation shows that under conditions of low cloud cover this makes the proposed coherence test more sensitive than the standard deviation test. When applied to real data the test was also found to be very sensitive compared with visible and IR threshold tests. Cloud cover obtained by the whole method is finally compared with that resulting from the visible and IR histogram analysis procedure of Phulpin et al. This comparison indicates a high reliability of the proposed method.

Description: The diets of 20 species of smaller Odontoceti were investigated. The material was collected along the southern African coast between 1966 and 1990 and included 158 strandings, 29 animals killed incidentally and 49 animals caught under permit. In total, 57 species in 34 families of fish and 89 species in 24 families of cephalopods were identified from remains in the 236 stomachs investigated. Most Odontoceti fed on commercially unexploited cephalopods and fish, or on fish below commercially utilized sizes. However, the average sizes of anchovy and pilchard eaten by Delphinus delphis and Lagenorhynchus obscurus were larger than the sizes most frequently taken commercially. The species composition of the prey items reflected the onshore-offshore distribution (and possibly the foraging depths) of different Odontoceti. Tursiops truncatus and Cephalorhynchus heavisidii were closest to shore and D. delphis and L. obscurus over the continental shelf. The rest were distributed around the shelf-edge and just off the edge. A comparison of the stomach contents of stranded and non-stranded D. delphis, L. obscurus and C. heavisidii demonstrated that results from stranded animals are biased.

Description: The community of benthic organisms in the lower zone of a rocky shore at Praia Rasa, Brazil is distinctly patchy in structure. We examined the hypothesis that two types of patch (a. red algal turf and b. colonial coelenterate) represent different temporal stages in the same successional trajectory. We made observations on a) the stability of patch boundaries, b) successional sequence in experimental clearings within both patch types and c) species composition through time in undisturbed patches. In most cases, the coelenterate overgrew the algae at the patch boundaries, thus showing a competitive asymmetry. In the successional sequence, diatoms were followed by ulvoid species. Thereafter, within clearings in the algal patches, a red algal turf was once more established over one year. In contrast, the mid successional period in clearings within the coelenterate patch was characterized by very low cover of sessile organisms. Colonization by red algal turfs and by the coelenterate colony is largely dependent on vegetative spread. Thus later succession is not predictable on the basis of time alone. Supply-side processes are clearly of equal importance. Therefore it cannot be stated without qualification that patches of red algal turfs and colonial coelenterate at Praia Rasa are part of the same successional sequence.

Description: A vertical mixing model was applied to a location off the west coast of the South Island, New Zealand, with the aim of simulating the seasonal cycle of temperature and mixed layer depth in the region. Observed weather data for 1973–89 were used to drive the model. Model results for sea temperature and mixed layer depth were compared to measurements from ships, moored temperature sensors, and satellites. The main features of the variations in temperature and mixed layer depth can be explained by the local meteorological forcing and vertical mixing, together with a general southward flow in the study area. Superimposed are short‐term variations which are obviously related to variable currents and the associated horizontal heat transport.

Description: Specimens of Siboglinum poseidon were collected by box coring and studied together with their undisturbed habitat. Occupied tubes occur in depse aggregations beneath the sediment surface directly at methane seep sites. Fertilized eggs develop into small larvae within the anterior transparent region of the tube. The oldest larvae observed in tubes measure c. 370 µm in length. It is concluded that released larvae develop in the sediment in the oxygenated top layer. Three tube types have been found: 1, the larval envelope; 2, the juvenile, transparent tube and 3, the ringed, adult tube. The smallest specimens recovered from the sediment measure c. 2 mm. They are complete with a tentacle, pyriform glands, bacteriocytes and juvenile opisthosoma. Some larvae were reared under laboratory conditions for 10 weeks. At that stage red blood becomes visible and a small tentacular bud is formed dorsally.

Description: Kanechlor-300, -400, -500 and -600, Phenoclor DP-3, -4, -5 and -6 and Sovol mixtures were analyzed for their chlorobiphenyl (CB) composition using high-resolution one-dimensional and multidimensional gas chromatography-electron capture detection (MDGC-ECD) techniques. The congener patterns of tested Kanechlor and Phenoclor mixtures resembled Aroclor 1016, 1242, 1254 and 1260. However, differences in the percentage contribution of minor constituents were noticed among these mixtures, which could be due to variations in the boiling-point fractionation of these commercial products. CB pattern of Sovol was different from the rest of the mixtures tested. It showed a composition in between ca. 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% overall chlorine levels. MDGC-ECD study showed the presence of hitherto unnoticed non-CB compounds coeluting with CBs in some commercial PCBs. The use of these mixtures as quantitation standards should be considered with caution. CB patterns of Sovol and a water extract of the Gulf of Finland matched closely, indicating a point source contamination to these waters.

Description: A series of field experiments has been made to determine the occurrence of small-scale surface motions that might enhance gas exchange by surface renewal. Out of 93 runs under natural conditions on open bodies of water, only 19 gave no indication of surface streaming within a few seconds. The data cover the wind speed range up to about 6 ms-1. Above 2 or 3 ms-1, predominately line structures were observed. This points to an important r6le of surface renewal in gas exchange.

Description: The North Pacific is a sea area of primary interest to Russia, which inherited key strategic interests of the former Soviet Union. But the North Pacific has also become an area of increasing resource exploitation activity. These factors lead to an even more active involvement in regional political relations. The article touches on a number of most urgent, controversial, and still unsolved issues faced today by the Russian Federation. The author concentrates on two major problems: the issue of international fisheries in the so‐called doughnut hole (located in the central Bering Sea), and the highly controversial questions of marine spaces delimitation between Russia on one side and Japan (which raises a more general political question of sovereignty over the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain) and the United States on the other.

Description: Seasonal records of tropical sea-surface temperature (SST) over the past 10(5) years can be recovered from high-precision measurements of coral strontium/calcium ratios with the use of thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The temperature dependence of these ratios was calibrated with corals collected at SST recording stations and by (18)O/(16)O thermometry. The results suggest that mean monthly SST may be determined with an apparent accuracy of better than 0.5 degrees C. Measurements on a fossil coral indicate that 10,200 years ago mean annual SSTs near Vanuatu in the southwestern Pacific Ocean were about 5 degrees C colder than today and that seasonal variations in SST were larger. These data suggest that tropical climate zones were compressed toward the equator during deglaciation.

Description: Results are presented following a long-term study of the diet of the Cape gannet Morus capensis at Bird Island, Algoa Bay, examining 4 178 regurgitations representing 36 351 prey items collected during 12 breeding cycles from April 1979 to March 1991. In all, 32 teleost and two cephalopod species were recorded. The pelagic shoaling pilchard Sardinops ocellatus, anchovy Engraulis capensis and saury Scomberesox saurus scombroides were identified as the main prey species. The diet composition showed marked interannual fluctuations during the sampling period, which appear to be related to changes in the abundance of the main prey species. The relative abundance of pilchard, anchovy and saury was also found to change intra-annually, the first two species occurring more frequently in the diet during the breeding season and saury dominating the diet in the non-breeding season. These changes are thought to originate from temporal variation in the oceanographic regime within the foraging range of the gannets.

Description: Six species of skates were trawled commonly on the continental shelf off the Southern Cape during routine surveys of demersal fish between 1986 and 1990. Raja miraletus is a small skate found principally in shallow (〈50 m) water that feeds mainly on small crustaceans, such as mysids and macrurans. The large Raja alba occurs over most of the continental shelf, is a piscivore throughout its life and preys heavily on flatfish, especially Cynoglossus zanzibarensis. R. cf. clavata is ubiquitous on the shelf but most abundant between 50 and 150 m deep. Feeding predominantly on crustaceans, this skate switches from carids, penaeids and mysids when small to brachyurans and small benthic fish when larger. R. pullopunctata is found over a similar depth range but attains a much larger size. It eats small mysids and macrurans when small, but brachyurans and fish become more important in the diet with increasing size of the predator. R. wallacei is most commonly taken at depths of 80–〉200 m, feeds initially on small crustaceans, but switches to fish, including eels, as it grows. The small Cruriraja parcomaculata is found at the edge of the continental shelf and over the upper slope; it preys on small crustaceans, including mysids, isopods and macrurans. The distribution pattern of the skates and their prey suggest overlap in prey taken, the overlap being greatest in those species which feed on crustaceans. The large biomass of skates in the area suggests that they are an important component of the demersal faunal assemblage of the continental shelf there, and also that they may have a significant impact on the benthic fauna.

Description: Oogenesis in four commercial Caribbean sponge species, Hippospongia lachne, Spongia barbara, S. cheiris and S. graminea, was studied using light and transmission electron microscopy. Eggs and embryos develop asynchronously in localized endosomal nurseries of these viviparous and gonochoristic species. Statistical analyses of specific morphological characteristics of reproductive elements have unequivocally identified four specific stages in the process of oogenesis. Oogonia undergo mitotic division to produce primary oocytes. Meiotic division occurs producing secondary oocytes which are fertilized before zygotes undergo major growth by phagocytosis and the transfer of nutrients through cytoplasmic bridges. During cleavage of the zygote, umbilici form between embryos and nurse cell layers and these function in the transfer of symbiotic bacteria and other mesohyl substances from the maternal parent to the embryo. These symbionts were observed dispersed between blastomeres of all young and maturing embryos and between internal cells of cytodifferentiated parenchymella larvae. Extracellular transfer of symbiotic bacteria from maternal tissues to developing embryos has not been reported in any other viviparous invertebrate.

Description: Before 1985, Martialia hyadesi (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) in the Pacific Ocean was known only from the Eltanin Fracture Zone and Macquarie Island. A joint Japan‐New Zealand squid survey around New Zealand captured many immature ommastrephid squids. Gel electrophoresis confirmed the presence of immature M. hyadesi. Aspects of the external morphology are described. The distinctive tentacle club was evident in the smallest specimen examined, 19 mm dorsal mantle length (ML). Arm trabeculae were first evident in specimens of 40–50 mm ML. Immature squid were distributed around and southward of the Subtropical Convergence Zone. The presence of very small squid (〈 10 mm ML) indicated spawning on or near the Auckland Island Shelf.

Description: Sexual reproductive cycles of a Florida, U.S.A., population of four Caribbean commercial sponge species, Hippospongia lachne, Spongia barbara, S. cheiris and S. graminea, were determined by analysis of tissue samples collected over a three-year period. Spermatogenesis in these species was studied using light and transmission electron microscopy. The production of male gametes occurs in cysts within the endosomal tissue of mature specimens. Reproductive elements within an individual cyst develop synchronously while development between cysts is asynchronous. All available evidence suggests that these species are dioecious. Spermatogonia differentiate directly from choanocytes in situ. All cells of the chamber lose their collars and flagella and undergo mitosis to produce primary spermatocytes, each possessing a single flagellum. The ratio of nucleus to cell diameter in these cells is almost double that of choanocytes. Circumstantial evidence suggests that primary spermatocytes undergo meiosis to produce four spermatids, but confirmational chromatid linkage figures are still lacking. The mature spermatozoa lack both intermediate segments and acrosomes. Male gametes displayed a bright yellow-white autofluorescence when excited with blue light (460–485 nm).

Description: Squid on their spawning grounds feed mainly at night when they are more dispersed. In all, 28,5 per cent of squid sampled at night had food in their stomachs, whereas only 6,7 per cent of those collected by day had food. Most stomachs contained only a single prey species (90,8% of those analysed). Teleosts dominated the prey of squid collected at night (58%M), followed by crustaceans (25%), polychaetes (9%) and cephalopods (3%). By day the prey was dominated by cephalopods (61%), followed by teleosts (20%), crustaceans (14%) and polychaetes (2%). Bregmaceros sp. was the most frequently identified teleost, Loligo vulgaris reynaudii (cannibalism) the dominant cephalopod, ?Betaeus sp. (Alpheidae; pieces of coral were also found) the commonest crustacean and Nereis sp. the commonest polychaete. There were seasonal differences in the diet too: squid caught during summer seemed to have similar proportions of the four main prey components. Also, the incidence of feeding was higher than in winter. There were, however, no significant differences in stomach mass expressed as a percentage of body mass between day and night nor between season nor between sexes. The average stomach mass of all samples was 0,6 per cent of body mass, less than on the feeding grounds, where it is generally about 2 per cent.

Description: The enoploteuthid cephalopod Abraliopsis lineata is re-described and its generic position discussed. Specimens for the present study were captured during the Indian Ocean Expedition of RV Meteor in 1987, where the species occurred in considerable numbers. The geographical distribution of A. lineata is described and discussed. The detailed analysis of the photophore pattern of the present specimens differs from the original description. The diagnostic features in the male, especially the structure of the hectocotylus which separates A. lineata easily from the members of the subgenus Pfefferiteuthis, are outlined. The morphological differences which separate A. lineata from A. gilchristi, the only other member of the subgenus Micrabralia, are summarized.

Description: Larval behaviour, settlement, and metamorphosis were investigated in four Caribbean commercial sponges, Hippospongia lachne, Spongia barbara, S. cheiris and S. graminea, using light and transmission electron microscopy. The parenchymella larvae of these viviparous and gonochoristic species have an average size of 350 μm by 420 μm when released. Symbiotic bacteria occur intercellularly in both larvae and post-larvae. Laboratory behavioural studies demonstrate that free-swimming larvae display directional swimming with constant lateral rotation and negative phototaxis. Larval settlement occurs 26–56 hours after release from the parent and involves the formation of a basal lamella between the post-larva and substrate. There is no evidence of larval substrate selection by type or orientation. The canal system begins to form six days after settlement and oscules are apparent eleven days post-settlement. Available evidence suggests that larval ciliated epithelial cells are terminally differentiated and do not appear to contribute to formation of post larva or adult in this group of Porifera.

Description: To evaluate the feasibility of feeding Sepia officinalis on artificial food, a food pellet consisting of Palaemon serratus powder and alginate as binding agent was developed and tested. Six of seven cuttlefish clearly ingested the artificial food during the ten days it was supplied.

Description: Knowledge concerning biology of two loliginids and three sepiids which are found in the Japanese waters was reviewed including unpublished information of the authors. The swordtip squid, Photololigo edulis, is one of the most important resources for the coastal fisheries of Kyushu and the prefectures facing the southwest Japan Sea. This species is the only species of genus Photololigo found along the Japanese mainland coast and is easily distinguished from other loliginids, by the light organs on the ink sac. The species is distributed from southern Japan to the Red Sea. The spawning season extends throughout the year. Egg cases are laid in clusters on the sandy bottom. The life span is about one year. In the juvenile stage they feed on Crustacea and after reaching pre‐maturity they prey mainly on fish, but many have empty stomachs. Most catches are made by jigging and trawler. The fishing season extends throughout the year. The fishing grounds are widely spread over the continental shelf. Annual catches are around 25 000 metric tonnes. Although this level varies from year to year, it is fairly stable. Fishing has probably little effect on the stocks. The spear squid, Heterololigo bleekeri, can be easily distinguished from other loliginids by its shorter tentacles. The species is endemic in the Far East waters. The stocks are larger in the north. The spawning season is winter in south Japan, and from spring to early summer in north Japan. Egg cases are laid beneath the undersurfaces of firm substances. The life span is about one year. Its feeding behaviour is similar to that of the swordtip squid. Catches are made mainly with bottom trawler and fixed nets from autumn to spring. Annual landings fluctuate widely from year to year. Several prefectures along the northern Japan Sea coast are promoting the large scale development of artificial spawning beds of the species to increase the stocks. The three sepiids, golden cuttlefish. Sepia esculenta, kisslip cuttlefish. Sepia lycidas, and spineless cuttlefish, Sepiella japonica are important in mainland Japan. Those three spawn from spring to early summer in the innermost waters of semi‐enclosed inlets. Eggs are laid in batches of 50–300 every day for 3–4 days followed by a rest period of 1–2 days. This pattern is repeated until several thousands of eggs have been laid. The life span of Sepia esculenta and Sepiella japonica is one year. They feed mainly on decapod crustaceans and fish but as growth proceeds the proportion of fish increases. They are fished mainly by cuttlefish trap and beam trawler. In the early 1960s annual landings were 20 000 metric tonnes but since 1980 catches have decreased below 10 000 metric tonnes. Of the three species, the stock of Sepiella japonica is the most fluctuable. Judging from the result of the stock assessment studies on Sepiella japonica in the western Inland Sea, their stocks have been over‐exploited.

Description: The model presented here provides an explanation of the rapid response of atmospheric CO2 to increasing solar insolation. In the glacial ocean, during periods of slow, deep water renewal, when less oxygen is supplied to the deep ocean and into sediments, manganese oxide in the sediments is reduced and forms soluble MnCO3 and stays in the water column. The dissolved Mn-carbonate should then reach a concentration of ≥ 10µMol/liter, approximately 5,000 to 104 times larger than it is at present. This is the mode prevailing until deep water formation at high latitudes starts again. As soon as the balance between oxygen and organic matter becomes oxidizing once more, the deposition of MnO2 recommences. Oxidation of dissolved Mn2+CO3 to Mn4+O2 which is a spike of acidity to the ocean, rapidly lowers the CO3−− concentration in the water column and enhances release of CO2 to the atmosphere, producing the observed events of CO2 increase at the transitions from glacials to interglacials. The surprising conclusion is that the oceanic (redox-) cycle of a minor element may have had a major impact on Earth's climate.

Description: The role of substratum surface tension on the colonization process (fouling) on artificial substrata was investigated in Kiel Bay (Western Baltic). The density of organisms from the major groups (bacteria, microalgae, protozoa, macroorganisms) was monitored on test panels after several exposure intervals in two experimental series. The results showed that substrata with a surface free energy of 24 mN/m were initially less densely colonized by representatives of the different fouling groups. The most hydrophobic substrata and those between 31–43 mN/m were heavily colonzied but there was a slight decrease in density towards the most hydrophilic material (glass). After an immersion time of 64 d these differences were not apparent for bacteria, microalgae or protozoa. These results correspond with thermodynamic predictions, which propose minimum bioadhesion on substrata with critical surface tensions between 20–25 mN/m in seawater. In addition, factors other than the surface tension may be important in marine fouling.

Description: The methodology for analysis of marine mammal diets may be thought of as a series of choices; about the sampling regime, the type of sample, the processing of samples, the identification of prey remains, the quantification of prey importances, and the estimation of population food consumption. In addition to directed sampling, samples may be obtained directly or opportunisitically and the most frequently used types of sample are gut contents of dead animals, and faeces. Direct observation of feeding may be possible for species living inshore, and humane approaches to sampling (e.g. lavaging) have been succesfully applied to seals, but all methods are subject to bias. Identification of fish prey usually relies on recognition of otoliths, but additional information may be obtained from other hard remains or serological analysis of proteins. Remains of invertebrate prey may also be identified from hard parts. A variety of methods exists for quantifying the importance of prey in marine mammal diets. The most useful currency is probably prey biomass but, for fish, natural variation in otolith size-fish weight relationships makes it difficult to estimate fish weights from otolith size. Also, otoliths are reduced in size or lost during digestion. Notwithstanding these problems, otoliths are widely used. If the diet of a population has been adequately characterised, the amounts of each prey type consumed may be derived from direct or indirect estimates of energy requirements. Ideally the measurements should be taken in the field. Possible improvements in methodology include improved calibrations for otolith measurements, the development of keys and guides to fish bones, and of serological methods for identifying fish proteins. Feeding is normally inferred rather than directly monitored and a means for remote detection of prey ingestion and defaecation would greatly enhance the interpretation of foraging activity. To predict diet choice it is necessary to undertand the underlying behavioural mechanisms. Measurement of the energetic costs of prey capture would be an important step in this direction.

Description: Opportunistically collected information on sea temperature and wind was used in a preliminary investigation of physical factors affecting jigged catches of chokka squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii. Results revealed sea temperature and wind to be correlated with catches during part of the summer upwelling season (October and December) in 1988. Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that sea temperature was a highly significant explanatory variable (p = 0,0000) for catches from three boats, as well as for the overall catch. Wind direction also played a significant role (p = 0,0085) in the overall catch. A statistical linear multiple regression model is proposed for each boat and for the total catch. Upwelling events are suggested to play a major role in the availability of squid on the inshore spawning grounds (〈50 m) during summer. With further study, other independent physical variables, such as currents, swell height and turbidity, are likely to be introduced into the proposed model.

Description: The feeding patterns of fish caught on the inshore (〈50 m deep) spawning grounds of chokka squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii were investigated between November 1988 and September 1990. Fish were sampled by demersal trawl, gillnet, handline and longline. SCUBA was used to observe interactions in situ. Potential predators consisted of 16 species each of teleost and elasmobranch. Of the teleosts, five species preyed on whole squid and one appeared to have scavenged squid fragments. Of the elasmobranchs, 12 species had squid in their stomachs, nine of these with a high incidence (〉33% frequency of occurrence). The squid were in spawning condition when taken and no spent squid were recovered from stomach contents. There was no evidence that squid had been moribund when ingested and no dead or moribund squid were encountered while diving during the two-year study. Cannibalism by squid was observed. Marine mammals and avian predators were rarely sighted on the spawning grounds.

Description: The enoploteuthid cephalopod Abraliopsis lineata is re-described and its generic position discussed. Specimens for the present study were captured during the Indian Ocean Expedition of RV Meteor in 1987, where the species occurred in considerable numbers. The geographical distribution of A. lineata is described and discussed. The detailed analysis of the photophore pattern of the present specimens differs from the original description. The diagnostic features in the male, especially the structure of the hectocotylus which separates A. lineata easily from the members of the subgenus Pfefferiteuthis, are outlined. The morphological differences which separate A. lineata from A. gilchristi, the only other member of the subgenus Micrabralia, are summarized.

Description: Responses in protease activity, caused by adding nutrients to batch cultures of a Vibrio sp., grown to equilibria in a chemostat system at 5 °C with C, N or P-limited media, was measured after O, 6 - 8 and 24 C±) hrs. Addition of the limiting nutrient gave the largest response in activity, due to an increase in bacterial numbers. Reduction in activity per cell was, however, observed in some cases. In field samples from the Skagerak, clear responses within 24 hrs were either absent or found when both C, N and P-sources were added. In the field samples, less changes were found in activity per cell. At three coastal stations, detectable responses were found to additions of P04 3- alone, or in some combinations. When measured, leucine incorporation gave a response pattern to P04 3- additions similar to that of protease activity.

Description: A direct microscopic method based on the response of bacterial cells to inhibition of DNA synthesis by nalidixic acid in the presence of growth-supporting yeast extract and designed to determine the number of viable bacteria, was tested in marine sediments bioturbated by the deposit-feeding polychaete Arenicola marina. The number of responsive cells in sediment samples ingested and egested by the polychaete, reflected similar differences and trends as total direct counts or plate counts. Nevertheless, application of that viable direct count technique in marine sediments suffered also from considerable systematic errors.

Description: For brackish water bodies at the North Sea coast which harbor red tide algal blooms during the summer months, phytoplankton densities and chlorophyll a data were compared with bacterial counts including plate counts of TCBS-agar-selected vibrios. Concentrations of chlorophyll a, the ratios of total viable counts on ZoBell agar to acridine orange direct counts (CFU/ AODC), and vibrio counts on TCBS-agar followed largely the same trends suggesting a strong linkage between phytoplankton biomass and heterotrophic cacteria. Enrichment experiments based on macroalgal extracts confirmed the extremely copiotrophic nature of TCBS-selected vibrios. Vibrio counts peaked during the bloom of a Cryptomonas sp. that was presumably grazed upon by a ciliate, Strombidium sp.. On the other hand, there were no indications of an analogous coincidence during mass developments of the potentially toxic dinoflagellate Glenodinium foliaceum.

Description: The near-bottom water layer is influenced by events in the sediment and by sedimentation from the productive surface layer. Microbial activity in this layer shows occasionally strong gradients from the pycnocline down to the sediment and it reacts to seasonal variations in oxygen content in the adjacent to the sediment. Comparison of mean values of bacterial stock and activity parameters in the productive surface layer and in the near-bottom layer shows, that despite of similar patterns of bacterial biomass and bacterial production in both layers, uptake velocity of leucine, peptidase activity, as well as turnover rates of leucine and hydrolysis rates of peptides are considerably lower in the near-bottom water layer. This is explained by effects of temperature, nutrient quality and oxygen depletion.

Description: Five strains of vibrio-shaped, mesophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent site at 13° N on the East Pacific Rise. Phospholipid analyses demonstrated a high percentage of branched-chain fatty acids, including the known biomarker for Desulfovibrio, in all five strains. The cell-wall lipids showed a fatty acid composition markedly different from the phospholipids. While straight-chain fatty acids were predominant the biomarker fatty acid was absent. Based on the morphological characteristics and the fatty acid composition, we tentatively have assigned the isolates to the genus Desulfovibrio.

Description: The test compound p-nitrophenol during summer normally is rapidly degraded in the freshwater area of the Elbe river. In contrast, degradation of PNP is decreased significantly during periods of low temperature or low oxygen content. Thus the xenobiotic compound is carried to the North Sea. In estuarine and marine environments the degradation of PNP is diminished step by step towards the open sea and is finally ceased completely, mostly as a result of increasing salinity.

Description: Water samples were taken at bimonthly intervals (April - October 88) from three stations located in the Ria Formosa, a coastal lagoon in SE Portugal. Bacterial abundance and biovolume ranged between 1.2 - 18 x 106 cells/ml and 0.107 - 0.216 µm3 /cell, respectively. Lowest values were detected at the station close to the ocean and highest values at the station near a domestic effluent. Total bacterial counts showed slight temporal fluctuations while saprophyte numbers presented a much stronger variation, with maxima in summer. The biovolume exhibited minimal values in summer. Reasons for the different patterns of spatial and temporal variability of the bacterial population are discussed.

Description: During a one-year period the development of the Antarctic coastal seawater bacterioplankton was followed. Two field stations (surface and deep water = 20 m, respectively) were sampled daily in 1989 in " Terre Adelie area". The survey included physicochemical (temperature and particulate organic matter) and bacteriological (total and heterotrophic bacteria, bacterial production) measurements. Whereas bacterial parameters at the deep water station remained fairly constant, bacterial parameters in surface waters generally increased during the year obviously related to the formation of sea ice.

Description: Experiments on fecal coliform accumulation and depuration in the oyster Crassostrea gigas were performed under two seasons (winter, summer), under various conditions of bacterial concentration (from 101 to 103 CFU ml-1) and suspended matter (10 to 50 mg l-1). Contamination process in the bivalve is mainly influenced by the bacterial density in the seawater. Influence of suspended matter concentration was less effective. Maximal bacterial accumulation was reached within 30 min. in summer (18 °C) and 5 hours in winter (11 °C). Concerning depuration process a 10 fold decrease of initial contamination required 3 hours and a 100 fold decrease was achieved within 10 hours. Time required for depuration was mainly dependent on the initial bacterial concentration in the oyster.

Description: In 1988 and 1989 data about the distribution and activity of petroleum hydrocarbon degrading bacteria in the North Sea and Baltic Sea were collected. Crude oil degrading bacteria and the number of bacteria which especially degrade naphthalene were quantified using a modified dilution (MPN) method. Crude oil degrading bacteria were present in all of about 100 water samples, with as many as 103 ml-1 in sum. Naphthalene degrading bacteria were present in at least tenfold fewer numbers which corresponded with petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) concentrations (ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy method, UVF) in more highly polluted areas. There is obviously a greater connection between this bacteria group and PHC pollutiori determined by UVF than between the more nonspecific group of crude oil degrading bacteria and UVF-determined PHC pollution. Data from the North Sea show an extremely high abundance of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, even in winter, while in the southern Baltic Sea low numbers of bacteria were found and a slower crude oil degradation was observed.

Description: Between 28 August and 5 September 1982 thirty water samples (5 m depth) were taken on a transect between the Bothnian Bay and the Kiel Bight. Despite substantially differing hydrographical situations within the different subregions of the Baltic Sea, the total bacterial numbers showed a remarkable regional uniformity. Bacterial numbers fluctuated between 3 and 4 x 106 cells ml-1. A distinct pattern was observed: mean bacterial cell volumes were high in the Bothnian Bay (0.145 µm3) and low in the Gotland- and Bornholm Sea (0.094 and 0.091 µm3, respectively). The bacterial biomass fell in the range of 184 - 117 µg C 1-1. The activity parameters were somewhat more variable than bacterial numbers and biomass.

Description: Starvation affects marine bacteria also under anaerobic conditions. Some basic data obtained for anaerobic starvation survival of a fermentative and a sulfaterespiring strain indicate substantial differences. The fermentative strain, Listonella (= Vibrio) anguillarum, responded to, nutrient depletion with rapid reduction of their cell size (dwarfing) and decline of viable cell counts by three orders of magnitude. The sulfate-respiring Desulfovibrio vulgaris showed only minor reductions of the cell sizes and no loss of viability. Whereas a drastic decline of cellular protein concentrations in this strain indicated strong endogeneous respiration, starved cells of the fermenting Vibrio sp. showed increasing levels of protein after an initial decrease.

Description: The structure of biofilms on various surfaces exposed in Spain, England and Denmark was examined. The majority of the surfaces examined were antifouling paints. At all times a wide variety of protozoan species were present. Typical forms included ciliates and choanoflagellates, attached to the surface of the paint or an adherent biofilm of bacteria and diatoms. Closer examination of many films indicated an abundance of amoeboid protozoa, that were able to move about within the biofilm. The staining and examination of sections of biofilms under the light microscope indicated that the amoeboid protozoa were distributed throughout the biofilm. These protozoa moved through the film grazing on the other organisms present and showed several different patterns of activity. Ultimately this caused the disruption and subsequent sloughing of the biofilm.

Description: A new profiling bottom lander (Profiluren) mounted with microelectrodes can measure oxygen profiles through the undisturbed sediment-water interface with 25-50 µm spatial resolution. The high spatial resolution of the in situ profiles reveal the thickness of the diffusive boundary layer (DBL) and allow calculations of: 1) the diffusive oxygen flux through the DBL, 2) the limitation of mass transfer between sediment and water due to the DBL and, 3) the oxygen consumption in discrete layers of the mm thick aerobic zone of marine sediments. The lander is thus an excellent tool for in situ analysis of oxygen dynamics at the sediment-water interface. Here we demonstrate two in situ oxygen profiles from a Danish coastal sediment at 15 m water depth, and discuss the impact of high resolution oxygen measurements.

Description: Eight Pseudomonas-like bacteria isolated from the tube of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent Polychaete Alvinella pompejana were found to carry a 51.7 kb plasmid. All isolates but one were resistant to zinc (3 mM or more) and arsenate ions (200 mM or more). The strains were resistant to penicillin and chloramphenicol.

Description: In contrast to the current view on the trophic role of bacteria in pelagic environments, the impression of a rather unproductive bacterioplankton arose from an example of the deep mesotrophic Lake Constance. Based on measurements of bacterial DNA, thymidine incorporation rates and grazing rates, turnover times of bacterial biomass exceeding 10 days were estimated during the growth period. Similarly, low productivity of bacterioplankton was indicated by low RNA/DNA ratios (〈 1). Additional indications for a rather inactive bacterioplankton were provided by the observation of long lag phases in lake water cultures. Low bacterial productivity has also to be expected from energetic considerations. There is increasing evidence for low bacterial growth efficiencies under natural conditions. The presented material points to the possible need for reconsideration of current estimates of bacterial in situ growth.

Description: The priapulid worm Halicryptus spinulosus which occurs in sulfide-rich mud of Kiel Bight is covered with a dense epizoic biofilm. Several types of filamentous microorganisms can be distinguished by SEM confirming previous conclusions based on TEM investigations. The most conspicuous forms are firmly attached filaments resembling Thiothrix that accumulate at the cuticular setae. Enrichment experiments indicate the presence of sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. A vector hypothesis is postulated which implies that the redox requirements of the (S)­-oxidizing constituents of the biofilm are matched by the worm's frequent moves between oxic and anoxic layers of the sediment.

Description: The frequency distributions not only of the most bacteriological parameters measured are proved as bimodal. According to this the values should be subdivided into summer and winter values. The changes of bacterial number, biomass and some functional parameters like Vmax of glucose and production during the years 1980/81 could be described by a simple time series analysis. These results were compared with values from the same location measured during 1989/90. The application of different statist.ical methods for analyzing such data and the usefulness of nonparametric tests are discussed.

Description: Fatty acid composition of the Flexibacter strains Inp2 and Inp3 were found to be influenced by the presence of cAMP. Whilst cAMP inhibited the synthesis of linoleic and linolenic acid in Inp2, cerulenin inhibited the synthesis of Cl6:l. This suggests that lnp strains possess both the aerobic and anaerobic pathway for synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs).

Description: Fecal coliforms, Salmonella and antigens linked to hepatitis A virus were searched for in shellfish collected in farms or natural beds along the French coast. Statistical analysis was performed on 176 test samples harvested at 8 different stations. For fecal coliforms, there were significant statistical differences between stations (F = 44.39; p 〈 0.001). Salmonella was found more frequently in 2 of the stations and was isolated more often in stations where mean fecal coliform contamination was high. The presence of antigens linked to hepatitis A virus was low (detection in only 2 stations where mean fecal coliform contamination was also low). No relation between viral and bacterial markers was observed at any of the stations.

Description: During the RV "Meteor" expedition in the Central Arabian Sea (MINDIK 87) the vertical distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, bacterial abundance, heterotrophic activity for glucose and the bacterial production determined by [3H-methyl]-thymidine incorporation were surveyed. At the time of observation (April-May) the study area was characterized by a stable pycnocline at 35 m and a nutricline at 50 to 55 m depth. Maxima for all biomass measurements were observed in the nutricline, whereas highest rates were detected in the nutrient-depleted surface layer above the nutricline. Based on these hydrographic conditions, a double vertical zonation was established also for microbiological and planktological events in the water column. The integrated bacterial production in the mixed surface layer (0-30 m) was half that in the layer underneath (30-100 m). This upper zone can be considered as a more or less closed sub-system and a significant amount of primary production (approximately 30 %) was channelled through the bacteria. Corresponding to the higher biomass in the lower zone the turnover of organic material was somewhat slower. This observation together with the presence of nutrients in the chemocline indicated a subsystem of more open character for exchange processes with underlying waters.