ALBERT

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

Description: To enable quality control of measurement procedures for determinations of Mg isotope amount ratios, expressed as δ26Mg and δ25Mg values, in Earth-surface studies, the δ26Mg and δ25Mg values of eight reference materials (RMs) were determined by inter-laboratory comparison between five laboratories and considering published data, if available. These matrix RMs, including river water SLRS-5, spring water NIST SRM 1640a, Dead Sea brine DSW-1, dolomites JDo-1 and CRM 512, limestone CRM 513, soil NIST SRM 2709a and vegetation NIST SRM 1515 apple leaves, are representative for a wide range of Earth-surface materials from low-temperature environments. The inter-laboratory variability, 2s (twice the standard deviation), of all eight RMs ranges from 0.05 to 0.17‰ in δ26Mg. Thus, it is suggested that all these materials are suitable for validation of δ26Mg and δ25Mg determinations of Earth-surface geochemical studies.

Description: Some of the basic assumptions implied in the theory of limiting similarity of coexisting competitors were investigated experimentally in the case of three congeneric, deposit feeding snails. The species show character displacement with respect to size when coexisting. In experimental containers with a natural substrate, interspecific, exploitative competition between snails of the same size range is as intense as intraspecific competition. Diatoms of a given size range, which constitute the most important food, show a "logistic" growth response to grazing, and individual growth of the snails is linearly related to diatom density. The previous observation that the snails show size dependent selection for ingested particle sizes is extended to show that this mechanism leads to a real resource partitioning between snails of different sizes. Size frequency distribution of diatoms in the sediment is a function of the sizes of grazing snails. Size selection of ingested sand grains may also be significant for resource partitioning since the migration rate of the attached microflora between sand grains seems to be slow relative to its growth on the individual sand grains.

Description: Fisheries advice is based on demographic calculations, which assume that density-dependent processes regulating recruitment occur only in early life. This assumption is challenged by laboratory and lake studies and some recent indications from marine systems that demonstrate density-dependent regulation late in life. By accounting for spatial dynamics of a population, something that has previously been ignored in models of fish, we show that density-dependent regulation is determined by the size of the habitat: in small habitats, for example small lakes, regulation occurs late in life, while it can occur early in large habitats. When regulation happens late in life, fisheries yield is maximized by exploitation of mainly juvenile fish, while exploiting mature fish maximizes yield if regulation happens early. We review and interpret observations of density dependence in the light of the theory. Our results challenge the current assumption that density dependence always occurs early in life and highlights the need for an increased understanding of density-dependent processes. This can only come about by a change of focus from determining stock-recruitment relationships towards understanding when and how density-dependent regulation occurs in nature.

Description: The spatial structure of species is important for their dynamics and evolution, but also for management and conservation. There are numerous ways of inferring spatial structures, and information from multiple methods is becoming more common to examine how different processes shape the spatial structures of species to improve fish management. Here, we investigate the spatial structure of a suite of Baltic Sea fish species based on the following: (i) spatial (presumably neutral) genetic differentiation, reviewed from the literature, and (ii) spatial synchrony in abundance changes from time series of fishery‐independent surveys, which we currently find to be underused given the amount of data available. For each of these two methods, species were classified as having a distinct, continuous or no/weak spatial structure. In addition, based on each source of information, we estimated the spatial scale of management units for species. The results show that only among species confined to the coastal zone the two sources of information yielded a congruence of the spatial structure (displaying a continuous spatial structure). In contrast, offshore species show weak spatial genetic structure but stronger spatial structure of synchrony in abundance. Based on this, we suggest that population genetic structure and synchrony in abundance should be used as complementary information as they reflect different spatial processes and suggest that management actions should differ with respect to scale depending on the management targets applied. We propose similar analysis should be applied to areas outside the Baltic Sea, and other stock identification methods, to improve management of fish resources.

Description: We report U–Pb zircon ages of c. 700–550 Ma, 262–220 Ma, 47–38 Ma and 15–14 Ma from amphibolites on Naxos Island in the Aegean extensional province of Greece. The zircon has complex internal structures. Based on cathodoluminescence response, zoning and crosscutting relationships a minimum of four zircon growth stages are identified: inherited core, magmatic core, inner metamorphic (?) rim and an outer metamorphic rim. Trace element compositions of the amphibolites suggest igneous differentiation and crustal assimilation. Zircon solubility as a function of saturation temperatures, Zr content and melt composition indicates that the zircon did not originally crystallize in the mafic bodies but was inherited from felsic precursor rocks, and subsequently assimilated into the mafic intrusives during emplacement. Zircon inheritance is corroborated by the complex, xenocrystic nature of the zircon in one sample. Ages of c. 700–550 Ma and 262–220 Ma are assigned to inherited zircon. Available geochemical data suggest that the 15–14 Ma metamorphic rims grew in situ in the amphibolites, corresponding to a high-grade metamorphic event at this time. However, the geochemical data cannot conclusively establish if the c. 40 Ma zircon rims also grew in situ, or whether they were inherited along with the xenocrystic cores. Two scenarios for emplacement of the mafic intrusives are discussed: (i) Intrusion during late-Triassic to Jurassic ocean basin development of the Aegean realm, in which case the 40 Ma zircon rims would have grown in situ, and (ii) emplacement in the Miocene as a result mafic underplating during large-scale extension. In this case, only the 15–14 Ma metamorphic outer rims would have formed in situ in the amphibolitic host rocks.

Description: Populations of fishes provide valuable services for billions of people, but face diverse and interacting threats that jeopardize their sustainability. Human population growth and intensifying resource use for food, water, energy and goods are compromising fish populations through a variety of mechanisms, including overfishing, habitat degradation and declines in water quality. The important challenges raised by these issues have been recognized and have led to considerable advances over past decades in managing and mitigating threats to fishes worldwide. In this review, we identify the major threats faced by fish populations alongside recent advances that are helping to address these issues. There are very significant efforts worldwide directed towards ensuring a sustainable future for the world's fishes and fisheries and those who rely on them. Although considerable challenges remain, by drawing attention to successful mitigation of threats to fish and fisheries we hope to provide the encouragement and direction that will allow these challenges to be overcome in the future.

Description: Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, is an economically important marine fish species in Asia. A suite of 18 microsatellite markers chosen from published genetic linkage maps was used to carry out parentage assignments of 188 hatchery-reared juveniles from a small number of breeders. The probabilities of exclusion for the 18 microsatellite markers were 0.604–0.913, and the effectiveness of combined probability of exclusion reached 100% when using the eight microsatellite markers with higher Excl 1 probabilities. The cultured and wild stocks (WSs) were differentiated in a release-recapture population based on these markers. Of the 321 recaptured offspring, 28.34% were assigned to their parental pairs in our broodstock, whereas the remaining offspring could not be traced back to a possible sire or dam. Significant reduction in genetic diversity of the cultured stock (CS) had not been found compared with that of the WS. The results suggest that CSs released into the wild will not adversely affect the genetic structure of natural populations. Our results demonstrate that these markers provide an efficient tool for parentage assignments and genetic analysis of Japanese flounder.

Description: Managing fisheries presents trade-offs between objectives, for example yields, profits, minimizing ecosystem impact, that have to be weighed against one another. These trade-offs are compounded by interacting species and fisheries at the ecosystem level. Weighing objectives becomes increasingly challenging when managers have to consider opposing objectives from different stakeholders. An alternative to weighing incomparable and conflicting objectives is to focus on win–wins until Pareto efficiency is achieved: a state from which it is impossible to improve with respect to any objective without regressing at least one other. We investigate the ecosystem-level efficiency of fisheries in five large marine ecosystems (LMEs) with respect to yield and an aggregate measure of ecosystem impact using a novel calibration of size-based ecosystem models. We estimate that fishing patterns in three LMEs (North Sea, Barents Sea and Benguela Current) are nearly efficient with respect to long-term yield and ecosystem impact and that efficiency has improved over the last 30 years. In two LMEs (Baltic Sea and North East US Continental Shelf), fishing is inefficient and win–wins remain available. We additionally examine the efficiency of North Sea and Baltic Sea fisheries with respect to economic rent and ecosystem impact, finding both to be inefficient but steadily improving. Our results suggest the following: (i) a broad and encouraging trend towards ecosystem-level efficiency of fisheries; (ii) that ecosystem-scale win–wins, especially with respect to conservation and profits, may still be common; and (iii) single-species assessment approaches may overestimate the availability of win–wins by failing to account for trade-offs across interacting species.

Description: Mass fractions of Sn and In were determined in sixteen geological reference materials including basaltic/mafic (BCR‐2, BE‐N, BHVO‐1, BHVO‐2, BIR‐1, OKUM, W‐2, WS‐E), ultramafic (DTS‐2b, MUH‐1, PCC‐1, UB‐N) and felsic/sedimentary reference materials (AGV‐2, JA‐1, SdAR‐M2, SdAR‐H1). Extensive digestion and ion exchange separation tests were carried out in order to provide high yields (〉 90% for Sn, 〉 85% for In), low total procedural blanks (~ 1 ng for Sn, 〈 3 pg for In) and low analytical uncertainties for the elements of interest in a variety of silicate sample matrices. Replicate analyses (n = 2–13) of Sn‐In mass fractions give a combined measurement uncertainty of 2u that are generally 〈 3% and in agreement with literature data, where available. We present the first high precision In data for reference materials OKUM (32.1 ± 1.5 ng g−1), DTS‐2b (2.03 ± 0.25 ng g−1), MUH‐1 (6.44 ± 0.30 ng g−1), and PCC‐1 (3.55 ± 0.35 ng g−1) as well as the first Sn data for MUH‐1 (0.057 ± 0.010 μg g−1) and DTS‐2b (0.623 ± 0.018 μg g−1).