ALBERT

Description: The Siberian Laptev Sea shelf contains submarine permafrost, which was formed by flooding of terrestrial permafrost with ocean water during the Holocene sea level rise. This flooding resulted in a warming of the permafrost to temperatures close below 0°C. The impact of these environmental changes on methanogenic communities and carbon dynamics in the permafrost was studied in a submarine permafrost core of the Siberian Laptev Sea shelf. Total organic carbon (TOC) content varied between 0.03% and 8.7% with highest values between 53 and 62 m depth below sea floor. In the same depth, maximum methane concentrations (284 nmol CH4 g−1) and lowest carbon isotope values of methane (−72.2‰ VPDB) were measured, latter indicating microbial formation of methane under in situ conditions. The archaeal community structure was assessed by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification for DGGE, followed by sequencing of reamplified bands. Submarine permafrost samples showed a different archaeal community than the nearby terrestrial permafrost. Samples with high methane concentrations were dominated by sequences affiliated rather to the methylotrophic genera Methanosarcina and Methanococcoides as well as to uncultured archaea. The presented results give the first insights into the archaeal community in submarine permafrost and the first evidence for their activity at in situ conditions.

Description: The potential for nitrification in the Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba was assessed using a combined physiological and molecular approach. Nitrate excretion rates in whole sponges reached values of up to 344 nmol g(-1) dry weight (wt) h(-1) (unstimulated) and 1325 nmol g(-1) dry wt h(-1) (stimulated). Addition of nitrapyrin, a nitrification-specific inhibitor, effectively inhibited nitrate excretion. Ammonium was taken up by sponges in spring and excreted in fall, the sponges thus serving as either an ammonium sink or ammonium source. Nitrosospira cluster 1 and Crenarchaeota group I.1A 16S rRNA and amoA genes were recovered from A. aerophoba and other sponges from different world's oceans. The archaeal 16S rRNA genes formed a sponge-specific subcluster, indicating that their representatives are members of the stable microbial community of sponges. On the other hand, clustering was not evident for Nitrosospira rRNA genes which is consistent with their presence in sediment and seawater samples. The presence of both Nitrosospira cluster 1 and crenarchaeal group 1 phylotypes in sponge tissue was confirmed using fluorescently labelled 16S rRNA gene probes. This study contributes to an ongoing effort to link microbial diversity with metabolic functions in the phylogenetically diverse, elusive and so far uncultivated microbial communities of marine sponges.

Description: On a transect between 20° and 70°S in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Weddell Sea, water samples from 19 hydrographic stations and bottom water from 55 surface sediment samples taken with a multiple corer were investigated for the stable carbon isotopic composition of the total dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CΣCO2). These measurements were compared to δ13C values determined on live specimens of the benthic foraminifer Fontbotia wuellerstorfi and closely related genera from the same stations. In addition, at 16 stations the stable carbon isotope composition of sedimentary organic carbon was measured. General deepwater and bottom-water mass circulation patterns as inferred from the δ13CΣCO2 are in close agreement with those known from other nonconservative tracers. Very low δ13C values of upper Circumpolar Deep Water (〈0.3‰ Pee Dee belemnite (PDB)) in the Polar Front region and the eastern limb of the Weddell gyre coincide with nutrient maxima. However, a significant decoupling of the dissolved phosphate signal from the δ13CΣCO2 signal is indicated in the abyssal Weddell Sea. We attribute this to temperature-dependent fractionation processes during gas exchange of surface waters with the atmosphere at sites of bottom-water formation. Multiple corer water from the sediment/water interface is slightly δ13C depleted relative to deepwater and bottom-water δ13ΣCO2. The surface sediment organic carbon δ13C is 3 to 4‰ lower south of the Polar Front than north of it, and the δ13Corg in freshly accumulated phytodetritus is 3 to 4‰ lower than surface sediment organic carbon δ13C. Comparison of live F. wuellerstorfi δ13C and related genera with bottom-water δ13CΣCO2 exhibits at most stations between the Subtropical Front (≈41°S) and the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (≈55°S) a significant lowering of foraminiferal δ13C values. Compilation of a mean last glacial/interglacial δ13C amplitude (Δδ13C) from six published southern ocean cores results in a shift of −0.99± 0.13‰ PDB; this shift is greater than that in all other regions. However, all of these cores are from positions close to Recent oceanic fronts. Thus, for these peripheral areas of the southern ocean, we suggest about half of the glacial/interglacial shift can be explained by varying frontal zone positions and widths accompanied by a change in mode and height of export production.

Description: 1. To study the influence of chironomids on the distribution of pore-water concentrations of phosphate, iron and ammonium, we conducted a laboratory experiment using mesocosms equipped with two-dimensional pore-water samplers, filled with lake sediment and populated with different densities of Chironomus plumosus. 2. Specially designed mesocosms were used in the study. A 6-mm deep space between the front plate and the pore-water sampler at the back plate was just thick enough to allow the chironomids to live undisturbed, yet thin enough to force all the burrows into a two-dimensional plane. 3. The courses of the burrows were observed during the experiment as oxidised zones surrounding them, as well as being identified with an X-ray image taken at the end of the experiment. 4. We investigated the relationship between C. plumosus burrows and spatial patterns of pore-water composition. Concentrations of the three ions were significantly less around ventilated burrows (54% to 24%), as bioirrigation caused a convective exchange of pore-water enriched with dissolved species compared with the overlying water, and also because oxygen imported into the sediment resulting in nitrification of ammonium, oxidation of iron(II) and a co-precipitation of phosphate with Fe(III) oxyhydroxides. 5. In mesocosms with chironomids, new (redox) interfaces occurred with diffusive pore-water gradients perpendicular to the course of burrows and the site of major phosphate, ammonium and iron(II) release shifted from the sediment surface to the burrow walls.

Description: Samples from the bottom of the sea were used in the exact determination of the crystals structures of naturally occurring hydrocarbon hydrates. The hydrates of methane, ethane, and propane had a cubic structure II with hexakaidecahedral and pentagonal dodecahedral cages occupied by the guest molecules.

Description: The utility of cuticular autofluorescence for the visualization of copepod morphology by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was examined. Resulting maximum intensity projections give very accurate information on morphology and show even diminutive structures such as small setae in detail. Furthermore, CLSM enables recognition of internal structures and differences in material composition. Optical sections in all layers and along all axes of the specimens can be obtained by CLSM. The facile and rapid preparation method bears no risk of artefacts or damage occurring to the preparations and the visualized specimens can be used for later analyses allowing for the investigation of irreplaceable type specimens or parts of them. These features make CLSM a very effective tool for both taxonomical and ecological studies in small crustaceans; however, the maximum thickness of the specimens is limited to a few hundred micrometers. Three-dimensional models based on CLSM image stacks allow observation of the preparations from all angles and can permit, improve and speed up studies on functional morphology. The visualization method described has a strong potential to become a future standard technique in aquatic biology due to its advantages over conventional light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Description: Seafloor vents spewing mineral-rich plumes of hydrothermal fluid — termed black smokers — can persist at mid-ocean ridges for decades or longer. Earthquake data indicate that ongoing magma injection may determine their locations.

Description: Large-scale, spatially explicit models of adaptive radiation suggest that the spatial genetic structure within a species sampled early in the evolutionary history of an adaptive radiation might be higher than the genetic differentiation between different species formed during the same radiation over all locations. Here we test this hypothesis with a spatial population genetic analysis of Hypoplectrus coral reef fishes (Serranidae), one of the few potential cases of a recent adaptive radiation documented in the marine realm. Microsatellite analyses of Hypoplectrus puella (barred hamlet) and Hypoplectrus nigricans (black hamlet) from Belize, Panama and Barbados validate the population genetic predictions at the regional scale for H. nigricans despite the potential for high levels of gene flow between populations resulting from the 3-week planktonic larval phase of Hypoplectrus. The results are different for H. puella, which is characterized by significantly lower levels of spatial genetic structure than H. nigricans. An extensive field survey of Hypoplectrus population densities complemented by individual-based simulations shows that the higher abundance and more continuous distribution of H. puella could account for the reduced spatial genetic structure within this species. The genetic and demographic data are also consistent with the hypothesis that H. puella might represent the ancestral form of the Hypoplectrus radiation, and that H. nigricans might have evolved repeatedly from H. puella through ecological speciation. Altogether, spatial genetic analysis within and between Hypoplectrus species indicate that local processes can operate at a regional scale within recent marine adaptive radiations

Description: We present a new three-dimensional (3-D) P-wave velocity model for the upper-crustal structure beneath the Strait of Georgia, southwestern British Columbia based on non-linear tomographic inversion of wide-angle seismic refraction data. Our study, part of the Georgia Basin Geohazards Initiative (GBGI) is primarily aimed at mapping the depth of the Cenozoic sedimentary basin and delineating the near-surface crustal faults associated with recent seismic activities (e.g. M = 4.6 in 1997 and M = 5.0 in 1975) in the region. Joint inversion of first-arrival traveltimes from the 1998 Seismic Hazards Investigation in Puget Sound (SHIPS) and the 2002 Georgia Basin experiment provides a high-resolution velocity model of the subsurface to a depth of ???7 km. In the southcentral Georgia Basin, sedimentary rocks of the Cretaceous Nanaimo Group and early Tertiary rocks have seismic velocities between 3.0 and 5.5 km s-1. The basin thickness increases from north to south with a maximum thickness of 7 (??1) km (depth to velocities of 5.5 km s-1) at the southeast end of the strait. The underlying basement rocks, probably representing the Wrangellia terrane, have velocities of 5.5-6.5 km-1 with considerable lateral variation. Our tomographic model reveals that the Strait of Georgia is underlain by a fault-bounded block within the central Georgia Basin. It also shows a correlation between microearthquakes and areas of rapid change in basin thickness. The 1997/1975 earthquakes are located near a northeast-trending hinge line where the thicknesses of sedimentary rocks increase rapidly to the southeast. Given its association with instrumentally recorded, moderate sized earthquakes, we infer that the hinge region is cored by an active fault that we informally name the Gabriola Island fault. A northwest-trending, southwest dipping velocity discontinuity along the eastern side of Vancouver Island correlates spatially with the surface expression of the Outer Island fault. The Outer Island fault as mapped in our seismic tomography model is a thrust fault that projects directly into the Lummi Island fault, suggesting that they are related structures forming a fault system that is continuous for nearly 90 km. Together, these inferred thrust faults may account for at least a portion of the basement uplift at the San Juan Islands. ?? 2007 The Authors Journal compilation ?? 2007 RAS.

Description: Late Quaternary sediments in a permafrost environment recovered from the Elgygytgyn Impact Crater were studied to determine regional palaeoenvironmental variability and infer past water-level changes of the crater lake. Stratigraphic analysis of a 5 m long permafrost core is based on various lithological (grain size, total organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility) and hydrochemical (oxygen isotope composition, major cation content) properties and pore ice content. The results show that alluvial sediments accumulated on top of cryogenically weathered volcanic rock. Changes in the hydrochemical properties reflect different stages of cryogenic weathering. The lithological characteristics mark the transition from an erosive site to a site with accumulation. This environmental change is linked to a relative lake level highstand at 〉13 000 yr BP, when a shoreline bar was formed leading to slope sedimentation. Lake level dropped by 4 m during the Holocene.

Description: Previously uncultured nitrite-oxidizing bacteria affiliated to the genus Nitrospira have for the first time been successfully enriched from activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. During the enrichment procedure, the abundance of the Nitrospira-like bacteria increased to approximately 86% of the total bacterial population. This high degree of purification was achieved by a novel enrichment protocol, which exploits physiological features of Nitrospira-like bacteria and includes the selective repression of coexisting Nitrobacter cells and heterotrophic contaminants by application of ampicillin in a final concentration of 50 µg ml−1. The enrichment process was monitored by electron microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rRNA-targeted probes and fatty acid profiling. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the enriched bacteria represent a novel Nitrospira species closely related to uncultured Nitrospira-like bacteria previously found in wastewater treatment plants and nitrifying bioreactors. The enriched strain is provisionally classified as ‘Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii’.

Description: For the understanding and assessment of recent and future carbon dynamics of arctic permafrost soils the processes of CH4 production and oxidation, the community structure and the quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were studied in two soils of a polygonal tundra. Activities of methanogens and methanotrophs differed significantly in their rates and distribution patterns among the two investigated profiles. Community structure analysis showed similarities between both soils for ester-linked phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and differences in the fraction of unsaponifiable PLFAs and phospholipid ether lipids. Furthermore, a shift of the overall composition of the microbiota with depth at both sites was indicated by an increasing portion of iso- and anteiso-branched fatty acids related to the amount of straight-chain fatty acids. Although permafrost soils represent a large carbon pool, it was shown that the reduced quality of organic matter leads to a substrate limitation of the microbial metabolism. It can be concluded from our and previous findings first that microbial communities in the active layer of an Arctic polygon tundra are composed by members of all three domains of life, with a total biomass comparable to temperate soil ecosystems, and second that these microorganisms are well adapted to the extreme temperature gradient of their environment.

Description: Induced breeding of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus was conducted by synthetic hormone Wova-FH in the intensity level of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mL kg−1 of body weight respectively. The brooders were injected one time and left to spawn in the spawning hapa in the sex ratio between male and female as 2:1. It was found that at all the intensity level hormone Wova-FH could enhance the fishes to breed and lay eggs whereas no breeding was observed in control set. The spawning time, quantity of the brooder spawn, fertilization rate, hatching rate and survival rate were quantified in each set of experiment. The egg output/female was significantly higher in 0.3 mL in comparison with 0.1 and 0.2 mL kg−1 of body weight. The statistical analysis showed significant (P≤0.05) effect between hormone dose on fertilization rate, egg output and hatching rate. The present experiment suggests that Wova-FH at the dose of 0.3 mL kg−1 body weight of fish is more effective which might be considered for raising captive population.

Description: The model marine crenarchaeote 'Cenarchaeum symbiosum' is until now the only ammonia-oxidizing archaeon known from a marine sponge. Here, phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA and ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes revealed the presence of putative ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in a diverse range of sponges from the western Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterranean. amoA diversity was limited even between different oceans, with many of the obtained sequences (75.9%; n(total) = 83) forming a monophyletic, apparently sponge- (and coral-) specific lineage, analogous to those previously inferred from comparative 16S rRNA gene studies of sponge-associated microbes. The presence of AOA in sponge larvae, as detected by 16S rRNA and amoA PCR assays as well as by fluorescence in situ hybridization, suggests they are vertically transmitted and thus might be of importance for ammonia detoxification within the sponge.

Description: The discovery of phylogenetically complex, yet highly sponge-specific microbial communities in marine sponges, including novel lineages and even candidate phyla, came as a surprise. At the same time, unique research opportunities opened up, because the microorganisms of sponges are in many ways more accessible than those of seawater. Accordingly, we consider sponges as microbial fermenters that provide exciting new avenues in marine microbiology and biotechnology. This review covers recent findings regarding diversity, biogeography and population dynamics of sponge-associated microbiota, and the data are discussed within the larger context of the microbiology of the ocean.

Description: Marine sponges (phylum Porifera) are among the oldest multicellular animals (metazoans), the sea's most prolific producers of bioactive metabolites, and of considerable ecological importance due to their abundance and ability to filter enormous volumes of seawater. In addition to these important attributes, sponge microbiology is now a rapidly expanding field.

Description: The Hindak strain of a Cryptomonas species (Cryptophyceae) produces extracellular polysaccharides. Because there is no information on the structure of these compounds in the Cryptophyceae we conducted structural studies. Gas–liquid chromatographic analyses showed that the polysaccharide is composed of fucose, rhamnose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, and traces of 3-O-methyl galactose. The polysaccharide was separated into two subtractions by ion-exchange chromatography. Fraction A consisted mainly of 1,3-linked galactose units and 1,4-linked galacturonic acid. Unlike fraction B, fraction A did not have xylose, 3-O-methyl galactose, or glucuronic acid. Also, its degree of branching was low compared to that of fraction B. Only traces of sulfate were present infraction A, but fraction B was 10–15% sulfated. Protein was approximately 1% in both fractions. These polysaccharides appear to be a novel type of polymer in algae.

Description: This paper updates the analysis by Osborn et al. of trends in the contribution of heavy events to precipitation in the UK. We spatially extended the previous analysis of 110 rain gauges to a set of 689 rain gauges covering almost the whole UK, and updated the results to November 2006. For each station and season, we calculated ten time series of the contribution of ten precipitation amount categories to the total seasonal precipitation. A principal component analysis of post-1961 trends of all categories and stations is consistent with earlier results, namely, widespread shifts towards greater contribution from heavier precipitation categories during winter, and towards light and moderate categories during summer. Regional and UK average time series of the contribution from the category consisting of the heaviest events indicate that the increased winter intensity was sustained during the most recent ten years, but the trend did not continue at the rate reported previously for 1961–1995. For summer, the decreasing contribution from the heaviest rainfall category reported for 1961–1995 underwent a reversal during the most recent decade, returning towards the 1961–1995 reference level of intensity. Confidence intervals for these regional and UK average time series were estimated by a bootstrap approach and indicate that the sparser observations from the first half of the 20th century are still sufficient to estimate UK average change. These longer records support the existence of a long-term increase in winter precipitation intensity, and similar trends have now also become evident in spring and (to a lesser extent) autumn. The summer rainfall intensity has exhibited changes that are more consistent with inter-decadal variability than any overall trend. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

Description: Detailed studies of the behavior and location of free-ranging animals can be considerably enhanced with the use of animal-mounted devices. A few devices, such as data loggers, have to be recovered to access the data, whereas satellite tags or radiocollars often are left on the animal after the study period. Recovery of devices, which usually necessitates animal recapture, can be problematic, especially in larger species. This paper presents a new, non-electronic release mechanism, requiring no power source on the animal, that was successfully tested on South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) in Argentina during the 2003–2004 austral summer. The system has potential for many larger terrestrial or aquatic animals.

Description: A common elemental analyzer system connected to a temperature-controlled gas chromatography (GC) column and coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer was improved to decrease the determination limit for a simultaneous stable isotope ratio measurement of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The additional use of a special ashtray system to collect the combustion residuals permitted more time-efficient work. These modifications to the elemental analyzer allowed precise measurements to be made down to 1.5 µg nitrogen and 10 µg carbon for stable isotope analysis. Low system background values and an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio have made an additional blank correction for these low sample measurements unnecessary. We provide a precision of this stable isotope analysis for lowest amounts of 1.2–2 µg nitrogen with a standard deviation of ±0.496‰ (n = 27) and for 8.2–15 µg carbon with a standard deviation of ±0.257‰ (n = 31) across different sample runs under stipulated conditions. This application can be established in an automatic mode without cryofocusing procedures.

Description: The great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo is thought to have a wettable plumage, providing low body insulation during foraging. Great cormorants should thus be constrained by water temperatures, and show high energy requirements. Surprisingly, this species has one of the widest breeding distributions of all diving birds, and does not require more food than these other species. We explored this apparent paradox by comparing the insulative properties of body plumage in four subspecies of great cormorants ranging from tropical to polar regions. We found that all subspecies retained an insulating air layer in their plumage, which was, however, much thinner than for other species of diving birds. Detailed examination of the plumage showed that each cormorant body feather has a loose, instantaneously wet, outer section and a highly waterproof central portion. This indicates that the plumage of great cormorants is only partly wettable, and that birds maintain a thin layer of air in their plumage. Our findings suggest an unusual morphological-functional adaptation to diving which balances the antagonist constraints of thermoregulation and buoyancy.

Description: Resolving flow geometry in the mantle wedge is central to understanding the thermal and chemical structure of subduction zones, subducting plate dehydration, and melting that leads to arc volcanism, which can threaten large populations and alter climate through gas and particle emission. Here we show that isotope geochemistry and seismic velocity anisotropy provide strong evidence for trench-parallel flow in the mantle wedge beneath Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This finding contradicts classical models, which predict trench-normal flow owing to the overlying wedge mantle being dragged downwards by the subducting plate. The isotopic signature of central Costa Rican volcanic rocks is not consistent with its derivation from the mantle wedge1, 2, 3 or eroded fore-arc complexes4 but instead from seamounts of the Galapagos hotspot track on the subducting Cocos plate. This isotopic signature decreases continuously from central Costa Rica to northwestern Nicaragua. As the age of the isotopic signature beneath Costa Rica can be constrained and its transport distance is known, minimum northwestward flow rates can be estimated (63–190 mm yr-1) and are comparable to the magnitude of subducting Cocos plate motion (approx85 mm yr-1). Trench-parallel flow needs to be taken into account in models evaluating thermal and chemical structure and melt generation in subduction zones.

Description: Development of a mechanistic understanding and predictions of patterns of biodiversity is a central theme in ecology. One of the most influential theories, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), predicts maximum diversity at intermediate levels of disturbance frequency. The dynamic equilibrium model (DEM), an extension of the IDH, predicts that the level of productivity determines at what frequency of disturbance maximum diversity occurs. To test, and contrast, the predictions of these two models, a field experiment on marine hard-substratum assemblages was conducted with seven levels of disturbance frequency and three levels of nutrient availability. Consistent with the IDH, maximum diversity, measured as species richness, was observed at an intermediate frequency of disturbance. Despite documented effects on productivity, the relationship between disturbance and diversity was not altered by the nutrient treatments. Thus, in this system the DEM did not improve the understanding of patterns of diversity compared to the IDH. Furthermore, it is suggested that careful consideration of measurements and practical definitions of productivity in natural assemblages is necessary for a rigorous test of the DEM.

Description: A wide range of bicarbonate concentrations was used to monitor the kinetics of bicarbonate (HCO3−) use in both photosynthesis and calcification in two reef‐building corals, Porites porites and Acropora sp. Experiments carried out close to the P. porites collection site in Barbados showed that additions of NaHCO3 to synthetic seawater proportionally increased the calcification rate of this coral until the concentration exceeded three times that of seawater (6 mM). Photosynthetic rates were also stimulated by HCO3− addition, but these became saturated at a lower concentration (4 mM). Similar experiments on aquarium‐acclimated colonies of Indo‐Pacific Acropora sp. showed that calcification and photosynthesis in this coral were enhanced to an even greater extent than P. porites, with calcification continuing to increase above 8 mM HCO3−, and photosynthesis saturating at 6 mM. Calcification rates of Acropora sp. were also monitored in the dark, and, although these were lower than in the light for a given HCO3− concentration, they still increased dramatically with HCO3− addition, showing that calcification in this coral is light stimulated but not light dependent.

Description: In the context of gradual Cenozoic cooling, the timing of the onset of significant Northern Hemisphere glaciation 2.7 million years ago is consistent with Milankovitch's orbital theory, which posited that ice sheets grow when polar summertime insolation and temperature are low. However, the role of moisture supply in the initiation of large Northern Hemisphere ice sheets has remained unclear. The subarctic Pacific Ocean represents a significant source of water vapour to boreal North America, but it has been largely overlooked in efforts to explain Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Here we present alkenone unsaturation ratios and diatom oxygen isotope ratios from a sediment core in the western subarctic Pacific Ocean, indicating that 2.7 million years ago late-summer sea surface temperatures in this ocean region rose in response to an increase in stratification. At the same time, winter sea surface temperatures cooled, winter floating ice became more abundant and global climate descended into glacial conditions. We suggest that the observed summer warming extended into the autumn, providing water vapour to northern North America, where it precipitated and accumulated as snow, and thus allowed the initiation of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

Description: The enhanced Arctic warming over the past three decades is attracting much attention. Combining forward and inverse models with observations suggests that regional changes in aerosol concentrations have contributed significantly.

Description: What limits phytoplankton growth in nature? The answer is elusive because of methodological problems associated with bottle incubations and nutrient addition experiments. We are investigating the possibility that antibodies to proteins repressed by a specific nutrient can be used as probes to indicate which nutrient limits photosynthetic carbon fixation in the ocean. The diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin and the chlorophyte Dunaliella tertiolecta Butcher were grown in batch cultures in artificial seawater and f/2 nutrient lacking either phosphorus, iron, or nitrogen. Chlorosis was induced by nutrient limitation in both species with the exception of phosphorus‐limited D. tertiolecta. The synthesis and appearance of specific proteins were followed by labeling with 14C‐bicarbonate. Nutrient limitation in general leads to a decrease in the quantum efficiency of photosystem II, suggesting that deficiency of any nutrient affects the photosynthetic apparatus to some degree: however, the effect of nitrogen and iron limitation on quantum efficiency is more severe than that of phosphorus. A crude fractionation of the soluble and membrane proteins demonstrated that the large proteins induced under limitation by phosphorus and iron were associated with the membranes. However, small iron‐repressible proteins were located in the soluble fraction. Isolation with anion‐exchange chromatography and N‐terminal sequencing of iron‐repressible, 23‐kDa Proteins from D. tertiolecta, P. tricornutum, and Chaetoceros gracilis revealed that these small soluble proteins have strong homology with the N‐terminal sequence of flavodoxins from Azotobacter and Clostridium. The identity of the flavodoxin from D. tertiolecta was confirmed by immunodetection using antiflavodoxin raised against Chlorella. Flavodoxin was detected only under iron deprivation and was absent from nitrogen‐and phosphorus‐limited algae. Flavodoxin is a prime candidate for a molecular probe of iron limitation in the ocean. The requirements to confirm its utility in nature are discussed.

Description: Conventional simultaneous CNS stable isotope abundance measurements of solid samples usually require high sample amounts, up to 1 mg carbon, to achieve exact analytical results. This rarely used application is often impaired by high C:S element ratios when organic samples are analyzed and problems such as incomplete conversion into sulphur dioxide occur during analysis. We introduce, as a technical innovation, a high sensitivity elemental analyzer coupled to a conventional isotope ratio mass spectrometer, with which CNS-stable isotope ratios can be determined simultaneously in samples with low carbon content (〈40 mu g C corresponding to similar to 100 mu g dry weight). The system includes downsized reactors, a temperature program-controlled gas chromatography (GC) column and a cryogenic trap to collect small amounts of sulphur dioxide. This modified application allows for highly sensitive measurements in a fully automated operation with standard deviations better than +/-0.47 parts per thousand for delta N-15 and delta S-34 and +/-0.12 parts per thousand for delta C-13 (n=127). Samples collected from one sampling site in a Baltic fjord within a short time period were measured with the new system to get a first impression of triple stable isotope signatures. The results confirm the potential of using delta S-34 as a stable isotope tracer in combination with delta N-15 and delta C-13 measurements to improve discrimination of food sources in aquatic food webs. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Description: We examined the genetic structure of the European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) by means of a 530-bp sequence of the mitochondrial control region from 210 fish originating from seven sampling localities of its distributional range. Phylogeographical analysis of 128 haplotypes showed a phylogenetic separation into two major clades with the Strait of Sicily acting as a barrier to gene flow between them. While no population differentiation was observed based on analysis of molecular variance and net nucleotide differences between samples of the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay nor between the Black Sea and the Bosporus, a strong population differentiation between these samples and two samples from the Mediterranean Sea was found. Further, the biggest genetic distance was observed within the Mediterranean Sea between the populations of the Gulf of Lyon and the Adriatic Sea, indicating genetic isolation of these regions. Low genetic diversities and star-like haplotype networks of both Mediterranean Sea populations point towards recent demographic expansion scenarios after low population size, which is further supported by negative FS values and unimodal mismatch distributions with a low mean. Along the northeast Atlantic coast, a northwards range expansion of a large and stable population can be assumed. The history of a diverse but differentiated Black Sea population remains unknown due to uncertainties in the palaeo-oceanography of this sea. Our genetic data did not confirm the presently used classification into subspecies but are only preliminary in the absence of nuclear genetic analyses.

Description: In marine ecosystems, pelagic copepods, chaetognaths and jellyfish play a key role in matter and energy flow. While copepods support most food webs and the biological pump of carbon into the deep ocean, chaetognaths and jellyfish may affect the strength of the top‐down control upon plankton communities. In this study, we show that the main events in the long‐term variability of these functional groups in the Northwestern Mediterranean were tightly linked to changes of climate forcing of the North Atlantic sector. Large‐scale climate forcing has altered the pelagic food‐web dynamics through changes in biological interactions, competition and predation, leading to substantial changes manifested as bursts or collapses in zooplankton populations, and consequently to a major change ca. 1987. These events become more frequent in the 1980s and the early 1990s in the studied zooplankton functional groups suggesting a shift in the functioning of the pelagic ecosystem. The environmental modifications and the results reported here are therefore, indicators of a regime change pointing to a more regeneration‐dominated system in the study area. We suggest a chain of mechanisms, whereby climate variation has modified the long‐term dynamics of pelagic copepods, chaetognaths and jellyfish in the Ligurian Sea.

Description: 1. Herbivorous zooplankton maintain a rather constant elemental composition in their body mass as compared with the variability commonly encountered in their food. Furthermore, their high phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) content means that they often face an excess of carbon (C) in their diet. Regulation of this surplus of energy may occur via modulation of assimilation efficiency, or postassimilation by increased respiration (CO2) and/or excretion dissolved organic carbon, DOC. Whereas several studies have examined the effect of elemental imbalance in the genus Daphnia, few have examined other zooplankton taxa. 2. We investigated whether the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus uses increased respiration as a means of stoichiometrically regulating excess dietary C. Growth rate and respiration were measured under different food qualities (C : N and C : P ratios). 3. Both C : N and C : P ratios in food had strong effects on growth rate, demonstrating strong nutrient limitation of rotifer growth when nutrient elements were depleted in the diet and indicating the need for stoichiometric regulation of excess ingested C. 4. Respiration measurements, supported by a stoichiometric model, indicated that excess C was not released as CO2 in B. calyciflorus and that nutrient balance must therefore be maintained by other means such as excretion of DOC or egestion in faecal material.

Description: Isostatic considerations exhibit differences between the northern, central and southern parts of the Pacific–Australian plate collision in South Island, New Zealand. In the northern part mean elevations are moderate and the gravity low is small; the central part contains the highest elevations, and gravity and elevations correspond to each other relatively well; and in the southern part the gravity low is strongest whereas the mean elevations are moderate again. These differences indicate changes in the character of the isostatic compensation and are explained by increased thickening and widening of the crustal root from north to south, and also by the long wavelength gravity response to a mantle density anomaly that increases towards the south. A simple 3‐D gravity model is derived that includes the detailed crustal structures from the South Island GeopHysical Transect (SIGHT) experiment as well as a high‐density anomaly in the mantle inferred from teleseismic data. The model indicates that cold and, therefore, dense upper mantle material penetrates the asthenosphere to a greater extent in the south, similar to the behaviour of an apparently highly ductile lower crust. As plate reconstruction suggests more lithospheric shortening in the north, our model corresponds to lithospheric material escaping laterally to the south, almost perpendicular to the compression caused by lithospheric shortening of the mantle. Therefore, in addition to the prevailing mantle shear in New Zealand, there may also be a component of extrusional mantle creep beneath the Southern Alps orogen, which could have caused some of the observed large seismic anisotropy in this region. We may have also found evidence for submerged Eocene–Miocene oceanic lithosphere beneath the southeastern part of South Island that has been unaccounted for after plate reconstruction.

Description: Etwa ein Drittel des von Menschen freigesetzten Treibhausgases Kohlendioxid (CO2) reichert sich in der Atmosphäre an und verstärkt dort den Treibhauseffekt. Zwei Drittel dieses Eintrags werden der Atmosphäre wieder entzogen und an anderer Stelle deponiert. Doch nur für etwa die Hälfte des wieder gebundenen Kohlendioxids kennen wir bisher die Senken. Wo bleibt der Rest? Um Aussagen über den Verbleib weiterer CO2-Emissionen und damit über die zukünftige Entwicklung des Treibhauseffektes machen zu können, bedarf es der Lösung des Kohlenstoffrätsels.

Description: 1 Plants must either tolerate consumption or defend themselves against grazer attacks. Selection for phenotypically plastic antiherbivory responses has been suggested for many plants, including a few species of seaweed, but little is known about its specificity or seasonality. 2 Multi-factorial experiments tested the effects of consumer identity (Littorina brevicula vs. Haliotis discus) and season (summer vs. autumn) on the induction of antiherbivory defences in the brown seaweed Ecklonia cava. Following a grazer-free acclimation phase, algae were incubated with grazers (treatment phase) and, subsequently, without grazers (recovery phase). Feeding preference assays, were used to assess differences in consumption rates between grazer-exposed and control plants. 3 In summer, Littorina, but not Haliotis, induced defence in Ecklonia. This defence vanished by the end of the recovery phase. In autumn, neither exposure to direct attack nor to waterborne cues induced defensive responses. 4 Both consumer identity and season of consumption can influence the ability of a given macroalgal species to induce antiherbivory defences. Tailoring such responses to spatial and temporal variation in grazer pressure could have profound ecological implications, for example changing food webs and community structure.

Description: The present study examines sedimentation rates in the eastern Gotland Basin using a variety of methods that reveal considerable heterogeneity in the rates, both spatially and temporally. High-resolution seismic recordings and correlation with long sediment cores indicate increased thickness of strata and higher sedimentation rates (0.75 mm a-1) in the eastern part of the basin than in the western part (0.23 mm a-1) since the Littorina transgression some 8000 14C years BP. This difference is apparently a consequence of a counterclockwis e near-bottom circulation in the basin with periodically high current speeds that cause winnowing on the steep SE slope of the basin and differential settling of sediments in areas of low current speeds. On shorter time scales, recent sediment accumulation rates based on radiometric dating (210Pb) are in general twice as high as those observed 25 years ago using the same method. The higher modern rates, compared to those of the 1970s, may partly be due to increased eutrophication, as more carbon is buried in the sediment, and partly due to increased erosion in shallow water areas. However, strong lateral variations are evident. The average sediment accumulation rates vary between 119 and 340 gm-2 a-1 (corresponding to sedimentation rates of 2.1–2.5 mm a-1) in the deepest part of the basin. Very high rates (6100 g m-2 a-1, corresponding to sedimentation rates of 30 mm a-1) are observed on an intraslope basin site (offshore Latvia) at a water depth of only 70 m. The radiometrically determined sediment accumulation rates are up to three times higher than those estimated from average water column concentrations of suspended matter and from sediment trap flux rates. The discrepancy suggests that sedimentation in the deep basin may have a substantial contribution from near-bottom lateral transport.

Description: Aspects of the formation of bone analog composites at 37°C are described. The composites are composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and the calcium salt of a biocompatible polymer and are capable of forming under in vivo conditions. Composite formation involves the formation of monolithic HAp from particulate calcium phosphate precursors while Ca ions liberated to the aqueous medium in which this reaction is occurring form crosslinks with the acidic polymer. The reactants are poly[bis(carboxylatophenoxy)phosphazene] (acid-PCPP), tetracalcium phosphate [Ca4(PO4)2O, TetCP], and anhydrous dicalcium phosphate (CaHPO4, DCPA). The effects of the proportion of polymer (5, 10, or 15 wt %) on the kinetics of HAp formation were studied. Compositional evolution of the solid calcium phosphates present was followed by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy analyses. HAp formation through a dissolution-precipitation process provided a mildly alkaline medium suitable for deprotonation of the acid-PCPP and for the formation of the calcium crosslinks, as monitored by infrared spectroscopy. Concurrence of crosslinking of the polymer and HAp formation was established, indicating true composite formation can be realized at physiologic temperature.

Description: The climate of the North Atlantic region exhibits fluctuations on decadal timescales that have large societal consequences. Prominent examples include hurricane activity in the Atlantic1, and surface-temperature and rainfall variations over North America2, Europe3 and northern Africa4. Although these multidecadal variations are potentially predictable if the current state of the ocean is known5, 6, 7, the lack of subsurface ocean observations8 that constrain this state has been a limiting factor for realizing the full skill potential of such predictions9. Here we apply a simple approach—that uses only sea surface temperature (SST) observations—to partly overcome this difficulty and perform retrospective decadal predictions with a climate model. Skill is improved significantly relative to predictions made with incomplete knowledge of the ocean state10, particularly in the North Atlantic and tropical Pacific oceans. Thus these results point towards the possibility of routine decadal climate predictions. Using this method, and by considering both internal natural climate variations and projected future anthropogenic forcing, we make the following forecast: over the next decade, the current Atlantic meridional overturning circulation will weaken to its long-term mean; moreover, North Atlantic SST and European and North American surface temperatures will cool slightly, whereas tropical Pacific SST will remain almost unchanged. Our results suggest that global surface temperature may not increase over the next decade, as natural climate variations in the North Atlantic and tropical Pacific temporarily offset the projected anthropogenic warming.

Description: Ninety-five million years ago, ocean bottom waters were much warmer than at present. Some of this warmth could have come from the proto-North Atlantic's continental shelves after the balmy surface waters became increasingly salty through evaporation.

Description: We characterized 37 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) makers for eelgrass Zostera marina. SNP markers were developed using existing EST (expressed sequence tag)-libraries to locate polymorphic loci and develop primers from the functional expressed genes that are deposited in The ZOSTERA database (V1.2.1). SNP loci were genotyped using a single-base-extension approach which facilitated high-throughput genotyping with minimal optimization time. These markers show a wide range of variability among 25 eelgrass populations and will be useful for population genetic studies including evaluation of population structure, historical demography, and phylogeography. Potential applications include haplotype inference of physically linked SNPs and identification of genes under selection for temperature and desiccation stress.

Description: The transport of warm and salty Indian Ocean waters into the Atlantic Ocean—the Agulhas leakage—has a crucial role in the global oceanic circulation1 and thus the evolution of future climate. At present these waters provide the main source of heat and salt for the surface branch of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC)2. There is evidence from past glacial-to-interglacial variations in foraminiferal assemblages3 and model studies4 that the amount of Agulhas leakage and its corresponding effect on the MOC has been subject to substantial change, potentially linked to latitudinal shifts in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies5. A progressive poleward migration of the westerlies has been observed during the past two to three decades and linked to anthropogenic forcing6, but because of the sparse observational records it has not been possible to determine whether there has been a concomitant response of Agulhas leakage. Here we present the results of a high-resolution ocean general circulation model7, 8 to show that the transport of Indian Ocean waters into the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage has increased during the past decades in response to the change in wind forcing. The increased leakage has contributed to the observed salinification9 of South Atlantic thermocline waters. Both model and historic measurements off South America suggest that the additional Indian Ocean waters have begun to invade the North Atlantic, with potential implications for the future evolution of the MOC.

Description: 1. Tracer experiments with two diatoms labelled with 13C (Nitzschia palea) and 15N (Fragilaria crotonensis), were conducted to investigate feeding selectivity and interspecific competition between the grazers Asellus aquaticus (Isopoda, Crustacea) and Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Gastropoda). Conventional methods, such as cell counts and estimated biovolume, were used first to detect feeding preferences within the different grazer treatments. 2. The results revealed a significant decline in algal biovolume in all grazer treatments and no indications of active selectivity were observed. In contrast to conventional methods, measurements based on isotope signatures showed strong differences in tracer uptake, thus indicating different degrees of assimilation and digestion by the two grazers. 3. The selectivity index Q, which provides information on the uptake ratio of 13C to 15N, showed a significant time effect for both grazer species and a significant difference between single- and mixed-grazer treatments for P. antipodarum. Thus, this technique enabled the direct quantification of the uptake by grazers and, therefore, served as an ideal tool for the detection of passive selectivity. 4. Our results indicate a shift in feeding preferences related to between-species competition and a potential divergence of trophic niches when species coexist.

Description: It is a well accepted fact that nutrient limitation of plants affects the growth and survival of herbivores, generally leading to lower performance of herbivores feeding on nutrient stressed plants. The effect of plants' growing conditions on predatory organisms, feeding one trophic level up, has been much less studied, and there is a general consensus that such effects would be small as herbivores often show relatively strong homeostasis with respect to their nutrient content. Here, we challenge this view, and show from several examples that despite the fact that herbivores buffer much of the variance in nutrient stoichiometry of their food, effects of growing conditions of the primary producers can travel up the food chain. We discuss the implications of these findings, and argue that phosphorus limitation of secondary consumers might be more common in marine than in freshwater systems.

Description: We investigated the wound response of the commercially important red alga, Gracilaria chilensis, in order to obtain insight into its interaction with epiphytic pests. After wounding, the host releases free fatty acids as well as the hydroxylated eicosanoids, 8R-hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (8-HETE) and 7S,8R-dihydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (7,8-di-HETE). While the release of free arachidonic acid and subsequent formation of 8-HETE is controlled by phospholipase A, 7,8-di-HETE production is independent of this lipase. This dihydroxylated fatty acid might be directly released from galactolipids. Physiologically relevant concentrations of oxylipins reduced spore settlement of Acrochaetium sp. (Rhodophyta, Acrochaetiaceae) and suppressed the development of hapteria in Ceramium rubrum (Rhodophyta, Ceramiaceae) when these model epiphytes were exposed to artificial surfaces that contained 8-HETE or 7,8-di-HETE. Thus, the immediate release of oxylipins can be seen as G. chilensis defence against epiphytes.

Description: Tubificid and enchytraeid oligochaetes are common members of the interstitial fauna of sandy beaches. Their abundance dynamics, life cycles and distribution patterns were investigated at two beaches on the western Baltic Sea and at a North Sea beach (Isle of Sylt). Populations of 115,000 ind./m2 were found at protected Baltic beaches. Reproduction of the tubificids, Phallodrilus monospermathecus and Spiridion insigne takes place within a well defined breeding period once a year. The market horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of various tubificid and enchytraeid species are elucidated by preference reactions to several physiographic parameters, such as oxygen and water content of the sediment, and salinity.

Description: The monthly variation in reproductive cycle, condition factor (fatness), gonad index (GI), ovarian egg diameter and biochemical composition [RNA, DNA content and their ratio RNA/DNA (R/D)] were compared to determine the spawning season of the purplish Washington clam, Saxidomus purpuratus, collected from the west sea of Taean, Korea. All these factors were correlated to the spawning season from May to October. Monthly variation and concentration of the R/D ratio especially represented indicative information about the processes of gonad development and spawning patterns. The increases in R/D ratio in the ovaries corresponded with increases in ovarian egg diameters and the GI during the spawning season. The peak of R/D and RNA content in females was a good indicator of sexual maturation and the DNA content in males. During winter between November and January, the value of fatness, GI, egg size, RNA and DNA content were lower than in other seasons, indicating depletion of energy reserves and lower metabolic demands because of colder temperatures.

Description: The early oceanographic history of the Arctic Ocean is important in regulating, and responding to, climatic changes. However, constraints on its oceanographic history preceding the Quaternary (the past 1.8 Myr) have become available only recently, because of the difficulties associated with obtaining continuous sediment records in such a hostile setting. Here, we use the neodymium isotope compositions of two sediment cores recovered near the North Pole to reconstruct over the past approx15 Myr the sources contributing to Arctic Intermediate Water, a water mass found today at depths of 200 to 1,500 m. We interpret high neodymium ratios for the period between 15 and 2 Myr ago, and for the glacial periods thereafter, as indicative of weathering input from the Siberian Putoranan basalts into the Arctic Ocean. Arctic Intermediate Water was then derived from brine formation in the Eurasian shelf regions, with only a limited contribution of intermediate water from the North Atlantic. In contrast, the modern circulation pattern, with relatively high contributions of North Atlantic Intermediate Water and negligible input from brine formation, exhibits low neodymium isotope ratios and is typical for the interglacial periods of the past 2 Myr. We suggest that changes in climatic conditions and the tectonic setting were responsible for switches between these two modes.

Description: Seismic and volcanic activities in Central Java, Indonesia, the area of interest of this study, are directly or indirectly related to the subduction of the Indo-Australian plate. In the framework of the MERapi AMphibious EXperiments (MERAMEX), a network consisting of about 130 seismographic stations was installed onshore and offshore in Central Java and operated for more than 150 days. In addition, 3-D active seismic experiments were carried out offshore. In this paper, we present the results of processing combined active and passive seismic data, which contain traveltimes from 292 local earthquakes and additional airgun shots along three offshore profiles. The inversion was performed using the updated LOTOS-06 code that allows processing for active and passive source data. The joint inversion of the active and passive data set considerably improves the resolution of the upper crust, especially in the offshore area in comparison to only passive data. The inversion results are verified using a series of synthetic tests. The resulting images showan exceptionally strong low-velocity anomaly (−30 per cent) in the backarc crust northward of the active volcanoes. In the upper mantle beneath the volcanoes, we observe a low-velocity anomaly inclined towards the slab, which probably reflects the paths of fluids and partially melted materials in the mantle wedge. The crust in the forearc appears to be strongly heterogeneous. The onshore part consists of two high-velocity blocks separated by a narrow low-velocity anomaly, which can be interpreted as a weakened contact zone between two rigid crustal bodies. The recent Java Mw = 6.3 earthquake (2006/05/26-UTC) occurred at the lower edge of this zone. Its focal strike slip mechanism is consistent with the orientation of this contact.

Description: The facultative red algal epiphyte Acrochaetium sp. liberated spores preferentially and recruited more successfully in laboratory cultures when its host Gracilaria chilensis C. J. Bird, McLachlan et E. C. Oliveira was present. The same effect was also induced by cell-free medium from G. chilensis, suggesting it contained a molecular signal. Antibiotics prevented spore release in Acrochaetium sp., even when G. chilensis was present, suggesting a prokaryotic origin of the signal. Simultaneous application of N-butyl-homoserine-lactone (BHL) restored the spore-release capacity, which demonstrated that spore release was not directly inhibited by the antibiotics and indicated that bacterially generated N-acyl-homoserine-lactones (AHLs) regulate spore release. An involvement of AHL was further indicated by the fact that two different halofuranone inhibitors of AHL receptors also inhibited spore release when they were applied at relatively low concentrations. Of seven different AHLs tested, only BHL induced the effect. However, BHL was only active at relatively high concentrations (100 μM), and it was not detected in spore-release-inducing medium of G. chilensis. Another water-soluble AHL or an AHL structure analog is therefore probably the active compound in G. chilensis cultures. The data presented demonstrate that life cycle completion in Acrochaetium sp. strongly depends on bacteria, which are not always present in sufficient numbers on the alga itself. Exogenous bacteria that are associated with G. chilensis or with other potential substrates may therefore trigger timely spore liberation in Acrochaetium sp., provided that the necessary concentration of AHL is reached. This first finding of AHL perception in a red alga confirms that AHL signalling is more widespread among eukaryotes than was thought until recently. However, spore release of a second red alga, Sahlingia subintegra (Rosenv.) Kornmann, was unaffected by AHL, and the reaction observed is therefore not universal.

Description: Fluids are suspected to play a major role in the nucleation and rupture propagation of earthquakes. In Chile, seismological data were previously interpreted to indicate that fluids captured in the fault zone are released periodically during large underthrust earthquakes, leading to post-seismic fluid flow. In central Chile, heat flow derived from the presence of a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) show a smooth trend across the margin. BSR-derived data are in excellent agreement with thermal subduction zone models. Over the young accretionary prism, both BSR-derived and measured surface heat flow support a common trend. Landwards of the backstop, however, measured heat flow triples over a distance of 20–30 km, producing a profound discrepancy to the BSR-derived data. We suggest that this disparity is related to transient flow of warm fluids through the gas hydrate stability zone possibly caused by fluids released after large underthrust earthquakes. Such flow events may inherently affect the distribution of solid gas hydrates between the seafloor and the BSR.

Description: 1 Several theoretical models predict under what conditions maximum species diversity can be maintained, and they are often used to develop effective ecosystem management plans. 2 Two models that are currently used to predict patterns of species diversity were empirically tested in marine subtidal benthic communities of different successional stages. 3 The two models were: the interactive effects of nutrient availability and disturbance frequency proposed by Kondoh (2001; Proceedings of the Royal Society London B, 268, 269–271), and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) proposed by Connell (1978; Science, 199, 1302–1310). 4 Interactive effects were found to be transient and only occurred in the older communities, while the unimodal pattern suggested by the IDH was not supported in either successional stage. 5 It is concluded that these models are very general and thus lack sufficient explanatory power. Both models require a number of specific prerequisites for maximum diversity to be found, and though applicable in many different ecosystems they need to be refined as tools in order that they can be effectively used in habitat management plans.

Description: Mid-ocean spreading and accompanying hydrothermal activities result in huge areas with exposure of minerals rich in reduced chemicals – basaltic and peridotitic rocks as well as metal sulfide precipitates – to the oxygenated seawater. Oxidation of Fe and S present in these rocks provides an extensive long-term source of energy to lithotrophs. Investigation of lipid biomarkers and their carbon isotope ratios from a massive iron sulfide of an inactive sulfide mound or inactive chimney sampled at the western flank of the Turtle-Pits hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 5°S) revealed a unique lipid distribution. The bacterial fauna appears to be dominated by chemolithotrophs with a distinct lipid composition mainly comprising of iso-branched fatty acids and nonisoprenoidal dialkyl glycerol diethers partially including the very rare macrocyclic cores with 30–35 carbon atoms (including 13,16-dimethyloctacosane and 5,13,16-trimethyloctacosane). The Bacteria are accompanied by most likely hydrogen/CO2-dependent methanogenic Archaea (e.g. Methanococcus) as well as other Archaea with a different life style (e.g. Ferroplasma). Alike some of the bacterial lipids the archaeal lipids predominantly consist of macrocyclic diethers including one C40 and one C41 isoprenoid. Structural homologues of the latter are so far only reported from a methanogenic archaeum and a Pleistocene sulfur deposit. Compound-specific analyses of the stable isotope ratios revealed δ13C values for the majority of bacterial and archaeal lipid components of about 0‰ (vs. VPDB), indicative for chemolithoautotrophically fixed carbon which is, for distinct pathways, accompanied by only negligible fractionations. However, the presence of methanogenic Archaea is indicated by 13C-depleted isoprenoidal lipids (δ13C ~ –50‰) characteristic for certain CO2-reducing methanogens synthesizing lipids via acetyl CoA.

Description: A new methodology is presented to reconstruct migration pathways of individual fish inhabiting ecosystems with moderate-to-strong gradients in temperature or salinity. The method uses measurements of ambient pressure, temperature and salinity obtained from electronic data storage tags attached to individual fish and is particularly applicable in areas with negligible tides. We demonstrate the method with Baltic cod. Hydrographic fields obtained from hydrodynamic modelling were used as a geolocation database to identify daily positions of Baltic cod by comparison with the environmental data collected by the tags. Using randomly distributed individual parameter perturbations in the range of the instrument precision of the tag we simulated a cod migrating through the Baltic Sea. The distance between the prescribed and geolocated positions of this artificial cod was on average 2.9 ± 4.7 (SD) km. Subsequently, the method was used to reconstruct migration routes of 10 real cod tagged in the Bornholm Basin of the Baltic Sea in early spring 2003. Differences were compared between the tag data and the geolocation database. The uncertainty in geolocation at recapture day was on average 75 ± 23 (SD) km, as shown by comparison between geolocated position and recapture position.

Description: THE supply of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is not considered to limit oceanic primary productivity1, as its concentration in sea water exceeds that of other plant macronutrients such as nitrate and phosphate by two and three orders of magnitude, respectively. But the bulk of oceanic new production2 and a major fraction of vertical carbon flux is mediated by a few diatom genera whose ability to use DIG components other than CO2, which comprises 〈 1% of total DIC3, is unknown4. Here we show that under optimal light and nutrient conditions, diatom growth rate can in fact be limited by the supply of CO2. The doubling in surface water pCO2 levels since the last glaciation from 180 to 355 p.p.m.5,6 could therefore have stimulated marine productivity, thereby increasing oceanic carbon sequestration by the biological pump.

Description: The ultramafic-hosted Logatchev hydrothermal field (LHF) on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is characterized by high hydrogen and methane contents in the subseafloor, which support a specialized microbial community of phylogenetically diverse, hydrogen-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophs. We compared the prokaryotic communities of three sites located in the LHF and encountered a predominance of archaeal sequences affiliated with methanogenic Methanococcales at all three. However, the bacterial composition varied in accordance with differences in fluid chemistry between the three sites investigated. An increase in hydrogen seemed to coincide with the diversification of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria. This might indicate that the host rock indirectly selects this specific group of bacteria. However, next to hydrogen availability further factors are evident (e.g. mixing of hot reduced hydrothermal fluids with cold oxygenated seawater), which have a significant impact on the distribution of microorganisms

Description: We examine micro-earthquake records from a dense temporary array of ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) and hydrophones that has been installed from September to November 2005 at the trench outer rise offshore Nicaragua. Approximately 1.5 locatable earthquakes per day within the array of 110 × 120 km show the high seismic activity in this region. Seismicity is restricted to the upper ∼15 km of the mantle and hence where temperatures reach 350–400 °C, which is smaller than values observed for large mantle intraplate events (650 °C). Determination of moment tensor solutions suggest a change of the stress region from tensional in the upper layers of the oceanic plate to compressional beneath. The neutral plane between both regimes is located at ∼6–9 km beneath Moho and thus very shallow. Fluids, which are thought to travel through the tensional fault system into the upper mantle, may not be able to penetrate any deeper. The earthquake catalogue, which seems to be complete for magnitudes above Mw = 1.6–1.8, suggests a strong change of the lithospheric rheology when approaching the trench. And b-factors, that is the ratio between small and large earthquakes increase significantly in the closest 20 km to the trench axis, implying that the crust and upper mantle is massively weakened and hence ruptures more frequently but under less release of stress. We explain this with a partly serpentinized upper mantle.

Description: Length–weight relationships are lacking for most deep-sea fishes. This study presents length–weight relationships for 42 species from the western Bering Sea. Results show significantly different relationships between females and males for 11 species and between juveniles and adults of four species. A plot of length–weight estimates, log a over b, showed the deep-sea fishes in this study to be more of the elongated shape compared with other marine fishes.

Description: Organic-rich sedimentary units called sapropels have formed repeatedly in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in response to variations of solar radiation. Sapropel formation is due to a change either in the flux of organic matter to the sea floor from productivity changes or in preservation by bottom-water oxygen levels. However, the relative importance of surface-ocean productivity versus deep-water preservation for the formation of these organic-rich shale beds is still being debated, and conflicting interpretations are often invoked1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Here we analyse at high resolution the differences in the composition of the most recent sapropel, S1, in a suite of cores covering the entire eastern Mediterranean basin. We demonstrate that during the 4,000 years of sapropel formation, surface-water salinity was reduced and the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea, below 1,800 m depth, was devoid of oxygen. This resulted in the preferential basin-wide preservation of sapropel S1 with different characteristics above and below 1,800 m depth as a result of different redox conditions. We conclude that climate-induced stratification of the ocean may therefore contribute to enhanced preservation of organic matter in sapropels and potentially also in black shales.

Description: We determine the 3-D in situ shear-wave velocities of shallow-water marine sediments by extending the method of surface wave tomography to Scholte-wave records acquired in shallow waters. Scholte waves are excited by air-gun shots in the water column and recorded at the seafloor by ocean-bottom seismometers as well as buried geophones. Our new method comprises three steps: (1) We determine local phase-slowness values from slowness-frequency spectra calculated by a local wavefield transformation of common-receiver gathers. Areal phase-slowness maps for each frequency used as reference in the following step are obtained by interpolating the values derived from the local spectra. (2) We infer slowness residuals to those reference slowness maps by a tomographic inversion of the phase traveltimes of fundamental Scholte-wave mode. (3) The phase-slowness maps together with the residuals at different frequencies define a local dispersion curve at every location of the investigation area. From those dispersion curves we determine a model of the depth-dependency of shear-wave velocities for every location. We apply this method to a 1 km2 investigation area in the Baltic Sea (northern Germany). The phase-slowness maps obtained in step (2) show lateral variation of up to 150 per cent. The shear-wave velocity models derived in the third step typically have very low values (60–80 m s−1) in the top four meters where fine muddy sands can be observed, and values exceeding 170 m s−1 for the silts and sands below that level. The upper edge of glacial till with shear-wave velocities of 300–400 m s−1 is situated approximately 20 m below sea bottom. A sensitivity analysis reveals a maximum penetration depth of about 40 m below sea bottom, and that density may be an important parameter, best resolvable with multimode inversion.

Description: The effects of nitrate, phosphate, and iron starvation and resupply on photosynthetic pigments, selected photosynthetic proteins, and photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry were examined in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin (CCMP 1327). Although cell chlorophyll a (chl a) content decreased in nutrient‐starved cells, the ratios of light‐harvesting accessory pigments (chl c and fucoxanthin) to chl a were unaffected by nutrient starvation. The chl a‐specific light absorpition coefficient (a*) and the functional absorption cross‐section of PSII (σ) increased during nutrient starvation, consistent with reduction of intracellular self‐shading (i.e. a reduction of the “package effect”) as cells became chlorotic. The light‐harvesting complex proteins remained a constant proportion of total cell protein during nutrient starvation, indicating that chlorosis mirrored a general reduction in cell protein content. The ratio of the xanthophylls cycle pigments diatoxanthin and diadinoxanthin to chl a increased during nutrient starvation. These pigments are thought to play a photo‐protective role by increasing dissipation of excitation energy in the pigment bed upstream from the reaction centers. Despite the increase in diatoxanthin and diadinoxanthin, the efficiency of PSII photochemistry, as measured by the ration of variable to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) of dark‐adapted cells, declined markedly under nitrate and iron starvation and moderately under phosphate starvation. Parallel to changes in Fv/Fm were decreases in abundance of the reaction center protein D1 consistent with damage of PSII reaction centers in nutrient‐starved cells. The relative abundance of the carboxylating enzyme, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RUBISCO), decreased in response to nitrate and iron starvation but not phosphate starvation. Most marked was the decline in the abundance of the small subunit of RUBISCO in nitrate‐starved cells. The changes in pigment content and fluorescence characteristics were typically reversed within 24 h of resupply of the limiting nutrient.

Description: The history of the Arctic Ocean during the Cenozoic era (0–65 million years ago) is largely unknown from direct evidence. Here we present a Cenozoic palaeoceanographic record constructed from 〉400 m of sediment core from a recent drilling expedition to the Lomonosov ridge in the Arctic Ocean. Our record shows a palaeoenvironmental transition from a warm 'greenhouse' world, during the late Palaeocene and early Eocene epochs, to a colder 'icehouse' world influenced by sea ice and icebergs from the middle Eocene epoch to the present. For the most recent approx14 Myr, we find sedimentation rates of 1–2 cm per thousand years, in stark contrast to the substantially lower rates proposed in earlier studies; this record of the Neogene reveals cooling of the Arctic that was synchronous with the expansion of Greenland ice (approx3.2 Myr ago) and East Antarctic ice (approx14 Myr ago). We find evidence for the first occurrence of ice-rafted debris in the middle Eocene epoch (approx45 Myr ago), some 35 Myr earlier than previously thought; fresh surface waters were present at approx49 Myr ago, before the onset of ice-rafted debris. Also, the temperatures of surface waters during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum (approx55 Myr ago) appear to have been substantially warmer than previously estimated. The revised timing of the earliest Arctic cooling events coincides with those from Antarctica, supporting arguments for bipolar symmetry in climate change.

Description: Deep-water formation in the northern North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean is a key driver of the global thermohaline circulation and hence also of global climate1. Deciphering the history of the circulation regime in the Arctic Ocean has long been prevented by the lack of data from cores of Cenozoic sediments from the Arctic's deep-sea floor. Similarly, the timing of the opening of a connection between the northern North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, permitting deep-water exchange, has been poorly constrained. This situation changed when the first drill cores were recovered from the central Arctic Ocean2. Here we use these cores to show that the transition from poorly oxygenated to fully oxygenated ('ventilated') conditions in the Arctic Ocean occurred during the later part of early Miocene times. We attribute this pronounced change in ventilation regime to the opening of the Fram Strait. A palaeo-geographic and palaeo-bathymetric reconstruction of the Arctic Ocean, together with a physical oceanographic analysis of the evolving strait and sill conditions in the Fram Strait, suggests that the Arctic Ocean went from an oxygen-poor 'lake stage', to a transitional 'estuarine sea' phase with variable ventilation, and finally to the fully ventilated 'ocean' phase 17.5 Myr ago. The timing of this palaeo-oceanographic change coincides with the onset of the middle Miocene climatic optimum3, although it remains unclear if there is a causal relationship between these two events.

Description: Local dynamics such as resource enhancement (e.g. nutrient supply) and stochastic events of destruction (disturbances that provide new space) are hypothesized to counteractively affect species diversity and composition.We tested the independent and interactive effects of nutrients and disturbance on the development of assemblages of epibiota attached to vertical surfaces in an oligotrophic system. Nutrient concentrations were manipulated at three levels (ambient, medium and high) while disturbance was manipulated by removing biomass at seven frequencies (0x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 7x, 12x). Nutrient and disturbance regimes had opposing effects on diversity such that species richness increased with resource enhancement (nutrients) and declined with disturbance. These results support the model that increased heterogeneity of distribution of limiting resources allows the coexistence of species with low and high resource requirements.

Description: The diversification of the teleost suborder Notothenioidei (Perciformes) in Antarctic waters provides one of the most striking examples of a marine adaptive radiation. Along with a number of adaptations to the cold environment, such as the evolution of antifreeze glycoproteins, notothenioids diversified into eight families and at least 130 species. Here, we investigate the genetic population structure of the humped rockcod (Gobionotothen gibberifrons), a benthic notothenioid fish. Six populations were sampled at different locations around the Scotia Sea, comprising a large part of the species’ distribution range (N = 165). Our analyses based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data (352 bp) and eight microsatellite markers reveal a lack of genetic structuring over large geographic distances (ΦST £ 0.058, FST £ 0.005, P values nonsignificant). In order to test whether this was due to passive larval dispersal, we used GPS-tracked drifter trajectories, which approximate movement of passive surface particles with ocean currents. The drifter data indicate that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects the sampling locations in one direction only (west–east), and that passive transport is possible within the 4-month larval period of G. gibberifrons. Indeed, when applying the isolation-with-migration model in IMA, strong unidirectional west-east migration rates are detected in the humped rockcod. This leads us to conclude that, in G. gibberifrons, genetic differentiation is prevented by gene flow via larval dispersal with the ACC.

Description: Diatoms are photosynthetic secondary endosymbionts found throughout marine and freshwater environments, and are believed to be responsible for around one-fifth of the primary productivity on Earth1, 2. The genome sequence of the marine centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was recently reported, revealing a wealth of information about diatom biology3, 4, 5. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and compare it with that of T. pseudonana to clarify evolutionary origins, functional significance and ubiquity of these features throughout diatoms. In spite of the fact that the pennate and centric lineages have only been diverging for 90 million years, their genome structures are dramatically different and a substantial fraction of genes (approx40%) are not shared by these representatives of the two lineages. Analysis of molecular divergence compared with yeasts and metazoans reveals rapid rates of gene diversification in diatoms. Contributing factors include selective gene family expansions, differential losses and gains of genes and introns, and differential mobilization of transposable elements. Most significantly, we document the presence of hundreds of genes from bacteria. More than 300 of these gene transfers are found in both diatoms, attesting to their ancient origins, and many are likely to provide novel possibilities for metabolite management and for perception of environmental signals. These findings go a long way towards explaining the incredible diversity and success of the diatoms in contemporary oceans.

Description: The tectonically driven closure of tropical seaways during the Pliocene epoch (approx5–2 million years (Myr) ago) altered ocean circulation and affected the evolution of climate. Plate tectonic reconstructions show that the main reorganization of one such seaway, the Indonesian Gateway, occurred between 4 and 3 Myr ago. Model simulations have suggested that this would have triggered a switch in the source of waters feeding the Indonesian throughflow into the Indian Ocean, from the warm salty waters of the South Pacific Ocean to the cool and relatively fresh waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Here we use paired measurements of the delta18O and Mg/Ca ratios of planktonic foraminifera to reconstruct the thermal structure of the eastern tropical Indian Ocean from 5.5 to 2 Myr ago. We find that sea surface conditions remained relatively stable throughout the interval, whereas subsurface waters freshened and cooled by about 4 °C between 3.5 and 2.95 Myr ago. We suggest that the restriction of the Indonesian Gateway led to the cooling and shoaling of the thermocline in the tropical Indian Ocean. We conclude that this tectonic reorganization contributed to the global shoaling of the thermocline recorded during the Pliocene epoch, possibly contributing to the development of the equatorial eastern Pacific cold tongue.

Description: The global decline of biodiversity caused by human domination of ecosystems worldwide is supposed to alter important process rates and state variables in these ecosystems. However, there is considerable debate on the prevalence and importance of biodiversity effects on ecosystem function (BDEF). Here, we argue that much of the debate stems from two major shortcomings. First, most studies do not directly link the traits leading to increased or decreased function to the traits needed for species coexistence and dominance. We argue that implementing a trait-based approach and broadening the perception of diversity to include trait dissimilarity or trait divergence will result in more realistic predictions on the consequences of altered biodiversity. Second, the empirical and theoretical studies do not reflect the complexity of natural ecosystems, which makes it difficult to transfer the results to natural situations of species loss. We review how different aspects of complexity (trophic structure, multifunctionality, spatial or temporal heterogeneity, and spatial population dynamics) alter our perception of BDEF. We propose future research avenues concisely testing whether acknowledging this complexity will strengthen the observed biodiversity effects. Finally, we propose that a major future task is to disentangle biodiversity effects on ecosystem function from direct changes in function due to human alterations of abiotic constraints.

Description: In this article, we show by mesocosm experiments that winter and spring warming will lead to substantial changes in the spring bloom of phytoplankton. The timing of the spring bloom shows only little response to warming as such, while light appears to play a more important role in its initiation. The daily light dose needed for the start of the phytoplankton spring bloom in our experiments agrees well with a recently published critical light intensity found in a field survey of the North Atlantic (around 1.3 mol photons m−2 day−1). Experimental temperature elevation had a strong effect on phytoplankton peak biomass (decreasing with temperature), mean cell size (decreasing with temperature) and on the share of microplankton diatoms (decreasing with temperature). All these changes will lead to poorer feeding conditions for copepod zooplankton and, thus, to a less efficient energy transfer from primary to fish production under a warmer climate.

Description: Crustal- and upper-mantle structures of the subduction zone in south central Chile, between 42 degrees S and 46 degrees S, are determined from seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data, using the seismic ray tracing method to calculate minimum parameter models. Three profiles along differently aged segments of the subducting Nazca Plate were analysed in order to study subduction zone structure dependencies related to the age, that is, thermal state, of the incoming plate. The age of the oceanic crust at the trench ranges from 3 Ma on the southernmost profile, immediately north of the Chile triple junction, to 6.5 Ma old about 100 km to the north, and to 14.5 Ma old another 200 km further north, off the Island of Chiloe. Remarkable similarities appear in the structures of both the incoming as well as the overriding plate. The oceanic Nazca Plate is around 5 km thick, with a slightly increasing thickness northward, reflecting temperature changes at the time of crustal generation. The trench basin is about 2 km thick except in the south where the Chile Ridge is close to the deformation front and only a small, 800-m-thick trench infill could develop. In south central Chile, typically three quarters (1.5 km) of the trench sediments subduct below the decollement in the subduction channel. To the north and south of the study area, only about one quarter to one third of the sediments subducts, the rest is accreted above. Similarities in the overriding plate are the width of the active accretionary prism, 35-50 km, and a strong lateral crustal velocity gradient zone about 75-80 km landward from the deformation front, where landward upper-crustal velocities of over 5.0-5.4 km s〈SU-1〈/SU decrease seaward to around 4.5 km s〈SU-1〈/SU within about 10 km, which possibly represents a palaeo-backstop. This zone is also accompanied by strong intraplate seismicity. Differences in the subduction zone structures exist in the outer rise region, where the northern profile exhibits a clear bulge of uplifted oceanic lithosphere prior to subduction whereas the younger structures have a less developed outer rise. This plate bending is accompanied by strongly reduced rock velocities on the northern profile due to fracturing and possible hydration of the crust and upper mantle. The southern profiles do not exhibit such a strong alteration of the lithosphere, although this effect may be counteracted by plate cooling effects, which are reflected in increasing rock velocities away from the spreading centre. Overall there appears little influence of incoming plate age on the subduction zone structure which may explain why the M-w = 9.5 great Chile earthquake from 1960 ruptured through all these differing age segments. The rupture area, however, appears to coincide with a relatively thick subduction channel.

Description: Oceanic fixed-nitrogen concentrations are controlled by the balance between nitrogen fixation and denitrification. A number of factors, including iron limitation, can restrict nitrogen fixation, introducing the potential for decoupling of nitrogen inputs and losses. Such decoupling could significantly affect the oceanic fixed-nitrogen inventory and consequently the biological component of ocean carbon storage and hence air–sea partitioning of carbon dioxide. However, the extent to which nutrients limit nitrogen fixation in the global ocean is uncertain. Here, we examined rates of nitrogen fixation and nutrient concentrations in the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean along a north–south 10,000 km transect during October and November 2005. We show that rates of nitrogen fixation were markedly higher in the North Atlantic compared with the South Atlantic Ocean. Across the two basins, nitrogen fixation was positively correlated with dissolved iron and negatively correlated with dissolved phosphorus concentrations. We conclude that inter-basin differences in nitrogen fixation are controlled by iron supply rather than phosphorus availability. Analysis of the nutrient content of deep waters suggests that the fixed nitrogen enters North Atlantic Deep Water. Our study thus supports the suggestion that iron significantly influences nitrogen fixation5, and that subsequent interactions with ocean circulation patterns contribute to the decoupling of nitrogen fixation and loss.

Description: Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in anoxic marine sediments is a significant process in the global methane cycle, yet little is known about the role of bulk composition, temperature and pressure on the overall energetics of this process. To better understand the biogeochemistry of AOM, we have calculated and compared the energetics of a number of candidate reactions that microorganisms catalyse during the anaerobic oxidation of methane in (i) a coastal lagoon (Cape Lookout Bight, USA), (ii) the deep Black Sea, and (iii) a deep-sea hydrothermal system (Guaymas basin, Gulf of California). Depending on the metabolic pathway and the environment considered, the amount of energy available to the microorganisms varies from 0 to 184 kJ mol−1. At each site, the reactions in which methane is either oxidized to inline image, acetate or formate are generally only favoured under a narrow range of pressure, temperature and solution composition – particularly under low (10−10 m) hydrogen concentrations. In contrast, the reactions involving sulfate reduction with H2, formate and acetate as electron donors are nearly always thermodynamically favoured. Furthermore, the energetics of ATP synthesis was quantified per mole of methane oxidized. Depending on depth, between 0.4 and 0.6 mol of ATP (mol CH4)−1 was produced in the Black Sea sediments. The largest potential productivity of 0.7 mol of ATP (mol CH4)−1 was calculated for Guaymas Basin, while the lowest values were predicted at Cape Lookout Bight. The approach used in this study leads to a better understanding of the environmental controls on the energetics of AOM.