ALBERT

Description: Stomach contents of 68 black petrels, Procellaria parkinsoni, 12 Westland black petrels, P. westlandica, and 3 white‐chinned petrels, P. aequinoctialis, were compared. The main prey were Cephalopoda and fish, and these indicated predominantly nocturnal feeding with selection for bioluminescent forms. There is marked latitudinal variation in the Cephalopoda available to these petrels.

Description: Fifty-two species of Ostracoda are distinguished in the Palaeogene succession of Soekor borehole Jc-1 on the continental shelf off Natal. Two species and one new genus are described, and the ostracod faunas can be grouped into four well-defined assemblages. Vertical variations in the make-up of the ostracod faunas, together with various parameters measured in the forminifera populations, are used to discriminate changes in the conditions of deposition and rates of sediment accumulation. These can be summarized: lower Palaeocene environments were hyposaline, restricted circulation, with rapid accumulation; upper Palaeocene through Eocene conditions were normal marine, alternating restricted and open water circulation, with rapid accumulation in the Palaeocene, and slower accumulation in the Eocene; Oligocene conditions were normal marine, with open water given way to restricted circulation, shallow water environments in the upper part. Sediment accumulation rates in the Oligocene vary rapidly, major changes in the composition of the ostracod populations are recognized as important local biostratigraphical events.

Description: A compilation of data on the elemental composition of marine phytoplankton from published studies was used to determine the range of C:N:P. The N:P ratio of algae and cyanobacteria is very plastic in nutrient-limited cells, ranging from 〈5 mol N:mol P when phosphate is available greatly in excess of nitrate or ammonium to 〈100 mol N:mol P when inorganic N is present greatly in excess of P. Under optimal nutrient-replete growth conditions, the cellular N:P ratio is somewhat more constrained, ranging from 5 to 19 mol N:mol P, with most observations below the Redfield ratio of 16. Limited data indicate that the critical N:P that marks the transition between N- and P-limitation of phytoplankton growth lies in the range 20–50 mol N:mol P, considerably in excess of the Redfield ratio. Biochemical composition can be used to constrain the critical N:P. Although the biochemical data do not preclude the critical N:P from being as high as 50, the typical biochemical composition of nutrient-replete algae and cyanobacteria suggests that the critical N:P is more likely to lie in the range between 15 and 30. Despite the observation that the overall average N:P composition of marine particulate matter closely approximates the Redfield ratio of 16, there are significant local variations with a range from 5 to 34. Consistent with the culture studies, lowest values of N:P are associated with nitrate- and phosphate-replete conditions. The highest values of N:P are observed in oligotrophic waters and are within the range of critical N:P observed in cultures, but are not so high as to necessarily invoke P-limitation. The C:N ratio is also plastic. The average C:N ratios of nutrientreplete phytoplankton cultures, oceanic particulate matter and inorganic N and C draw-down are slightly greater than the Redfield ratio of 6.6. Neither the analysis of laboratory C:N:P data nor a more theoretical approach based on the relative abundance of the major biochemical molecules in the phytoplankton can support the contention that the Redfield N:P reflects a physiological or biochemical constraint on the elemental composition of primary production.

Description: We investigated the effects of local nutrient enrichment, among-population variation in quality, and within-plant variation in quality on growth, development, and food consumption (total amount of food ingested) of the marine isopod Idotea baltica when fed Fucus vesiculosus. We found that the proximity of fish farms increased carbon/nitrogen ratio, but did not change the concentration of phlorotannins in the F. vesiculosus thallus. Algal diets taken from sites close to or far from fish farms did not affect the growth, development, or total amount of food ingested of I. baltica. Therefore, eutrophication may not necessarily decrease the level of plant resistance. We found that different F. vesiculosus beds vary in quality and led to differences in total amount of food ingested and production efficiency of I. baltica. The variation in quality of F. vesiculosus in different locations may generate variance in grazing pressure between the belts. Idotea baltica was most sensitive to within-plant variation, as the isopods grew more and had higher production efficiency on apical than basal parts of F. vesiculosus. Idotea baltica did not compensate for the lower quality of basal parts by increasing consumption. This may indicate that the low quality of the basal thallus is related to higher levels of secondary metabolites and not to lower levels of soluble sugars or nitrogen that might have encouraged compensatory consumption. Our results suggest that within-plant variation in the quality of the F. vesiculosus is more important for herbivores than possible environmental variation caused by eutrophication.

Description: Small-angle phase functions (0.05° 〈 θ 〈 20°) have been measured for turbid samples that were then used in a Monte-Carlo theoretical light-scattering model. The measured phase function yields excellent agreement between model predictions and long-path tank measurements.

Description: The study investigates perspectives of the parameter estimation problem with the adjoint method in eddy-resolving models. Sensitivity to initial conditions resulting from the chaotic nature of this type of model limits the direct application of the adjoint method by predictability. Prolonging the period of assimilation is accompanied by the appearance of an increasing number of secondary minima of the cost function that prevents the convergence of this method. In the framework of the Lorenz model it is shown that averaged quantities are suitable for describing invariant properties, and that secondary minima are for this type of data transformed into stochastic deviations. An adjoint method suitable for the assimilation of statistical characteristics of data and applicable on time scales beyond the predictability limit is presented. The approach assumes a greater predictability for averaged quantities. The adjoint to a prognostic model for statistical moments is employed for calculating cost function gradients that ignore the fine structure resulting from secondary minima. Coarse resolution versions of eddy-resolving models are used for this purpose. Identical twin experiments are performed with a quasigeostrophic model to evaluate the performance and limitations of this approach in improving models by estimating parameters. The wind stress curl is estimated from a simulated mean stream function. A very simple parameterization scheme for the assimilation of second-order moments is shown to permit the estimation of gradients that perform efficiently in minimizing cost functions.

Description: Using dimensional analysis and finite-element calculations, several relationships that relate features of indentation loading and unloading curves to the hardness, the elastic modulus and the work of indentation are extended to conical indentation in elastic-plastic solids with various angles. These relationships provide new insights into indentation measurements. They may also be useful to the interpretation of results obtained from instrumented indentation experiments.