ALBERT

Beschreibung: Mean intracellular pH (pHi) and PCO2 (PiCO2) have been analysed based on pH and total CO2 measurements in tissue homogenates. Tissues were sampled from undisturbed worms (Sipunculus nudus), squid (Illex illecebrosus), trout (Salmo gairdneri), toads (Bufo marinus), and rats. Homogenate metabolism was inhibited by the addition of potassium fluoride and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). Model calculations revealed that the influence of dilution, medium buffers, and contamination by extracellular fluids was negligible. In white muscle tissue the resulting pHi values were virtually the same as found in studies using DMO (dimethyloxazolidinedione). If large fractions of mitochondria were present (e.g. in heart muscle), DMO derived pHi values were considerably higher, probably representing overestimates. Homogenate derived pHi values are concluded to represent the effective mean pHi by taking into account pH gradients, and the volumes and buffering of cellular compartments. High time resolution and small variability make this method especially useful to assess rapid changes in pHi, e.g. in exercising animals.

Beschreibung: The growth of “Growing Sealife”™ plastic squid was tested against the principles of the von Bertalanffy growth theory. The von Bertalanffy growth curve fits the data well on visual inspection, although the Schnute curve actually provides a statistically superior fit. If the von Bertalanffy growth curve provides a reasonable fit to data, this is frequently interpreted as evidence for anabolic and catabolic changes. The results of this paper for plastic squid are intended to provide a warning that such an interpretation does not necessarily follow.

Beschreibung: Methodology for assessing squid fisheries is presented focusing on the estimation of exploitation rate, stock size and the fishing power of the vessels. The assessment is designed to provide input into management decisions for effort limited fisheries. The fishery for Illex argentinus around the Falkland Islands is used as an example for the methods. The development of a management policy for this fishery is described more fully in a related paper. The methods are based on modifications to standard Leslie-Delury analysis. Various regression methods are utilized depending on the number of fleets for which detailed data are available. The statistical procedures also yield estimates of the standard errors of the estimates for evaluating the assessment advice.

Beschreibung: The biology of exploited cephalopod stocks is reviewed. Individual growth rates are high, slowing drastically or becoming erratic at sexual maturity. Growth estimates depend on aquarium studies and population modal analysis. In some cases, ring markings in the statolith appear to be age-related, but at present there is no generally applicable method of age determination. Sexes are separate and fertilization is normally by direct mating. Rapid maturation is followed by a single spawning season and, with few exceptions, an early death. Methods for estimation of fecundity are poorly developed. Annual recruitment to the population is essential and depends critically on each year's breeding success and the survival of eggs and hatchlings. Many cephalopod species have a planktonic stage of variable duration but no specialized larval stages. Cephalopods are carnivorous animals with very high gross growth efficiency. They are also consumed in large quantities by higher trophic levels leading to suggestions that cephalopods are potentially capable of supporting significantly increased levels of exploitation. The difficulties of modelling these populations are recognized

Beschreibung: The organization of the chitin-proteoglycan in Loligo vulgaris pen was examined ultrastructurally and related to the molecular order indicated by X-ray diffraction. There is a centrosymmetric striated repeat of 22 nm in the system which is based upon dark and light bands of unequal width. The banding is orientated perpendicular to the direction of the major molecular axis of the chitin fibres. The chitin molecules are laid down in sheets with a mutual, though irregular, twist to produce a laminated ‘plywood’ material.

Beschreibung: A deep Seismic reflection profile collected by DEKORP and BELCORP in the western Rhenish Massif was supplemented by wide-angle measurements. Signals from a vibrator source were successfully recorded to a distance of 60 km. A passive recording array was operated that recorded all shots along the profile. The wide-angle and near-vertical data were used to construct a velocity model for the profile. Most of the wide-angle reflections coincide with strong near-vertical reflections or bands of high reflectivity. The North Variscan Deformation Front, seen as a prominent shallow reflection on many profiles in this region, separates an upper crust with rather nigh velocities from a layer with lower velocities underneath. At a depth of 20–22 km a thin (2–3 km thick) layer of high velocities is found. The Moho is not reflective either in the near-vertical or in the wide-angle data, suggesting the presence of a thick crust-mantle transition zone.

Beschreibung: Brain pathways controlling the chromatophores of the squidLolliguncula brevis are described using cobalt iontophoresis. The results show several input and output pathways of the anterior and posterior chromatophore and lateral basal lobes. These connections allow coordination and modification of the chromatophore motor program throughout the motor pathway. Unlike other cephalopod species, there seems to be no direct input from the optic lobes to the lateral basal lobes inL. brevis. This species displays only a few simple patterns; therefore the underlying neural pathways for chromatophore control may be different from those of other cephalopods with more extensive patterning repertoires.

Beschreibung: A theoretical basis is suggested for examining habitat limitations of artificial surfaces for population enhancement of crevice-dwelling, or territorial organisms such as reef fish or lobsters, that takes into account known growth and mortality rates. This approach is compared with the crevice frequency at size in a ‘natural’ substrate, which, it is assumed, corresponds to fractal expectation. With naturally dissected surfaces, fractal expectation predicts that crevice availability declines with size, so that a ‘bottleneck’, limits the population of larger-sized individuals, but that natural mortality, or rate of loss of individuals displaced from crevices, will also decline with age. The paper considers a surface perforated with circular niches of a limited number of discrete radii, distributed at random over a surface, without overlap, and considers what is the size frequency of hole radii needed to complete the life history of an infaunal organism with a given mortality and growth schedule, and a constant occupancy rate. Determining a priori crevice frequency at size before constructing an artificial surface, and for a given packing density, distributing the crevices over it in two dimensions, is referred to as ‘mapping’ the growth and mortality rates onto the surface. Sample calculations are described either for continuous recruitment or where recruitment occurs as a ‘pulse’ during a specific season, and subsequent cohort growth obeys a common scheduling. It is shown that fractal surfaces limit the production of larger individuals unless migration intervenes, but are more suitable for recruitment enhancement. Using units with a limited size range of perforations is biologically inefficient, and depends on natural recruitment elsewhere for stock replenishment by migration. These calculations are relevant to the design of artificial surfaces, throw light on mechanisms limiting productivity of dissected surfaces, and point to effects of individual niche size on abundance at size of niche-limited organisms. The existence of nursery areas which can support large numbers of small individuals but few adults, and migratory stages in the life history of crevice-dwelling organisms, could be functions of the fractal nature of natural surfaces. An experimental field approach (a ‘niche sampler’) measuring occupancy at size of existing habitats is proposed that could be used prior to designing and installing artificial reefs in a given area to determine the optimal hole frequency at size.

Beschreibung: Feeding trials in which salmon was fed to captive seals are described and sources of evidence for the presence of salmon in the diet of seals are evaluated. In faecal samples, the recovery rate of salmon otoliths is too low and bony remains are too fragmented to be useful. Protein extracts from the faeces of salmon-fed captive seals will react with anti-salmon antisera, but the reaction is not strong enough for the methods to be presently applied to field samples. In the digestive tract samples from seals, the use of bony remains for the identification of salmon significantly increases the probability of recognising this species. Protein extracts from digestive tract contents will react positively with anti-salmon antisera and this shows that serological methods can provide evidence for the presence of Salmonidae in the diet of seals, in the absence of solid remains.

Beschreibung: A seismic refraction profile across Langeland (Denmark) obtained from land stations recording airgun shots allowed to resolve upper crustal velocities to a depth of 8 km. The profile traverses the proposed Caledonian Deformation Front and the Ringkoebing-Fyn High. The Ringkoebing-Fyn High is about 10 km wide and the top basement lies less than 2 km below the surface. Basement velocities as high as 6.4 km/s, at depths between 6 and 8 km, can be best explained by compositional changes between adjoining basement units to the north and south. South of the Ringkoebing-Fyn High another high velocity basement unit is encountered and most probably represents a basement affected by the Caledonian orogeny. Along this profile on Langeland the positions of the Caledonian Deformation Front and the northern limit of the Zechstein deposits coincide.

Beschreibung: Autochthonous organic frameworks from the deeper fore reef (−50 m to −110 m) of the Red Sea are composed predominantly of incrusting calcareous red algae and foraminifera. This foralgal crust facies is represented by three types. The first is a pure foralgal crust community which forms small buildups with bumpy surfaces. Calcareous red algae and incrusting formainifera comprise more than 60 % of the biogenous fabric. The second type is a framework in which foralgal crusts are secondary binders around the hermatypic deep water scleractinian Leptoseris fragilis. The third type occurs on drowned reefs, exhibiting a mixture of Pleistocene shallow water and present day deep water binding species. Therefore, the morphology of this subfacies is more governed by an inherited relief, characterized by pinnacles and barrel shaped towers. This present day deep water foralgal community started to develop within the Cretaceous in shallow water environments, composed predominantly of corallinaceans, peyssonneliaceans, and subordinately of acervulinid foraminifera. With the beginning of the Neogene, the shallow water community of reef binding foraminifera and calcareous algae changed and become dominated by the foraminifera Acervulina. The living foralgal crusts of the deeper fore reef in the Red Sea represent a binding community of Upper Cretaceous and Palaeogene shallow water environments which has shifted in greater water depth with time.

Beschreibung: Ostracod faunas at six locations are compared, and related to distributions in an Atlantic Ocean-wide data base. Five, widely developed, vertical faunal sequences are recognised at particular levels within deep water-masses: Henryhowella Fauna (lower part of Antarctic Intermediate Water); Krithe Fauna (Upper North Atlantic Deep Water); Poseidonamicus-Bosquetina Fauna (upper part of Lower NADW); Dutoitella Fauna (lower part of Lower NADW); Legitimocythere Fauna (Antarctic Bottom Water). These faunas are correlated with previously established deep water benthic foraminiferal assemblages, and their possible palaeo-oceanographic use is discussed.

Beschreibung: Petroleum impregnated sediments and massive sulfides have been found in two deeps of the northerns Red Sea. Biological marker distributions in extracts and polar fraction degradation products were analyzed in order to elucidate the source of the petroliferous material. Two organic phases could be distinguished according to their source and maturity. The amounts of n-alkanes show a marked decrease with depth, whereas the concentrations of various branched and cyclic hydrocarbons increase, resulting in a humpof unresolvable compounds in a depth as shallow as 300 cm. Changes in concentrations and distributions of hopanoids in the Kebrit Deep sediments indicate a rapid increase of maturity with depth. The deepest core section (300 cm) and the masive sulfide reveal comparable maturation indices typical for mature oils. By chemical degradation of the polar fractions a series of C40-isoprenoids was obtained, which reveals a considerable contribution from methanogenic and thermophilic archapbacteria to the immature organic matter. The data suggest that petroliferous material ofthermogenic origin migrates through the younger sequences, superimposes the autochthonous organic substances in the sediments and furthermore, forms asphaltic impregnations in the massive sulfides.

Beschreibung: A porcellanite layer, probably younger than 0.6-0.4 Ma, of a nearly monomineralic composition of opal-CT was sampled on the Southwest Indian Ridge during Polarstern cruise ANT-VI/3. The intense cementation of the rock, together with recent findings by the Ocean Drilling Program (Legs 113 and 120) and the occurrence of a unique older porcellanite from Eltanin Core 47-15, provides evidence of very early silica precipitation in pure diatom oozes of the Southern Ocean. Such porcellanites occur in shallowly buried young sediments and provide a contrast to the established concepts of porcellanite formation.

Beschreibung: Foraminiferal assemblages have been analysed in sediment surface samples located along three profiles covering the depth interval 1–120 m in Breidangen, a wide basin forming the middle portion of Oslo Fjord. The study concentrates on the distribution of major faunal features, including suborders and diversities (number of species, Shannon-Wiener index, equitability). In addition, species distribution is recorded and Q-mode factor analysis has distinguished six assemblages. Measurements of hydrographical properties (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) reveal the estuarine stratification of the water column, which is reflected also by the faunal parameters. On the basis of these features, the following subdivision is proposed (with increasing depth): (1) Seasonal layer dominated by calcareous species in the upper, and agglutinated species in the lower part, with low to intermediate diversities; (2) Transitional layer characterized by a maximum in diversity and a reduction in the agglutinated component; (3) Stable deeper water showing high diversity and a further decrease in the agglutinated component. The generally higher frequency of calcareous foraminifera below the seasonal water layer on the eastern side of Breidangen compared to the western side is mainly attributed to the influence of inflowing Skagerrak water. Additionally, it may be a result of increased supply of organic matter to the western side, increasing the oxygen demand in this area.

Beschreibung: Thermogenic hydrocarbons, formed by the thermal alteration of organic matter, are encountered in several piston core stations in the King George Basin, Anatarctica. These hemipelagic sediments are being deposited in an area of active hydrothermalism, associated with the back-arc spreading in the Bransfield Strait. The lateral extent of sediments infiltrated by the hydrothermally influenced interstitial fluids is characterized by basalt diapirix intrusions and is delineated by an acoustically turbid zone in the sediments of the eastern part of the basin. Iron-sulphide-bearing veins and fractures cut across the sediment in several cores; they appear to be conduits for flow of hydrothermally altered fluids. These zones have the highest C2+ and ethene contents. The thermogenic hydrocarbons have molecular C1/(C2 + C3) ratios typically 〈 50 and δ13CH4 values between −38% and −48%, indicating an organic source which has undergone strong thermal stress. Several sediment cores also have mixed gas signatures, which indicate the presence of substantial amounts of bacterial gas, predominantly methane. Hydrocarbon generation in the King George Basin is thought to be a local phenomenon, resulting from submarine volcanism with temperatures in the range 70–150°C. There are no apparent seepages of hydrocarbons into the water column, and it is not believed that significant accumulation of thermogenic hydrocarbons reside in the basin.

Beschreibung: The space-time structure of interannual sea level variability simulated with two simplified coupled ocean-atmosphere models is investigated by means of Principal Oscillation Pattern (POP) analysis. Both coupled models consists of an Oceanic General Circulation Model (OGCM) of the tropical Pacific and linear atmospheric feedback. The first coupled model uses an empirical atmospheric feedback derived from data. It simulates low frequency oscillations with periods comparable to the ENSO period of a few years when driven with white noise. In the second coupled model we use a linear steady state atmosphere model. This coupled model shows quasiperodic oscillations with periods of about 16 months within a certain parameter range. It is shown that the coupling of ocean and atmosphere is an important contribution for the generation of interannual variability. In both coupled models the interannual variability appears to be linked to the propagation of equatorial waves. The results are compared to a run with the uncoupled OGCM driven with observed winds. The resulting variability patterns are similar to those in the coupled experiments. The implications of the results for ENSO prediction are discussed. References

Beschreibung: Growth increments have been reported to occur in the squid beak, radula, gladius and statolith. Of these, the statolith, which is part of the organ responsible for detection of linear and angular acceleration, has proved most promising for age determination. Growth increments in the statolith are formed from aragonite crystals in an organic matrix. They are best viewed after sectioning the statolith or after decalcification in weak acid. The statolith grows in concert with the rest of the squid. Experiments with squid in which chemical markers have been incorporated at a known time in the statolith, and experiments with cultured squid of known age, appear to confirm the hypothesis that growth increments in the statolith are laid down daily. Increments are produced in the laboratory in the absence of tidal, feeding or temperature cycles, which suggests that there is a firmly entrained endogenous circadian rhythm associated with their formation. However, the possibility that increment formation can be disrupted by environmental factors, or that rings in the statolith are produced coincidentally at the rate of approximately one per day, should not be fully discounted without further experimental corroboration. Data on squid age, derived from growth increments in the statolith, clearly have value in fisheries investigations, but they should be treated with caution until they have been validated.

Beschreibung: We studied the distribution and abundance of marine birds in Bransfield Strait and southern Drake Passage during January and February 1985. We identified clusters of bird species, “communities” with similar distributions, and examined the extent to which the distributions of these seabird communities reflected the underlying physical oceanography of the region. Based on temperature, salinity and silicon data, we identified 11 water masses which resulted from varying degrees of mixing of water from the Pacific Basin, the Bellingshausen Sea, the Weddell Sea and terrestrial runoff. Seabird species assemblages were associated with contiguous clusters of water masses, suggesting a response by the birds to apparently subtle differences in their marine habitat.

Beschreibung: The observed distribution of dissolved magnesium in the pore water of rapidly accumulating sediments shows significant deviations from the seawater value. We have shown that deviations during early diagenesis can be explained by reactions occurring at the surface of sediment particles. In anoxic pore water environments with high levels of dissolved total carbon dioxide the formation of Mg+2·CO3−2 complexes significantly reduces the concentration of the free Mg+2 ion. This decrease in the Mg+2 activity results in desorption of magnesium from the solid surfaces due to the re-equilibration of the adsorbed Mg+2 with the dissolved species. The effect of increasing carbonate complexation of Mg+2 in anoxic environments is initially compensated by the loss of sulfate, which is also a strong Mg+2 ligand. Therefore, significant changes in free Mg+2 concentration and thus in the magnesium desorption from solid surfaces by ligand competition for Mg+2 are more pronounced in sulfate-depleted systems undergoing methanogenesis. Such conditions are characteristic of most continental margin sediments. Another consequence of the decomposition of organic matter in hemipelagic sediments is the accumulation of high levels of ammonium ions which also displace Mg+2 from sediment-particle surfaces by ion exchange. These equilibria in the pore water-sediment systems can be described by empirical parameters, which were experimentally obtained. A computer model was used to determine the equilibrium conditions for solid-solution reactions as a function of changes in the pore-water composition in organicrich hemipelagic environments. This model includes complex formation, competition for Mg+2 between dissolved ligands and exchange sites and Mg+2NH+4 exchange reactions. The relative proportion of desorbed and displaced Mg+2 from the solid surface depends on the characteristics of the sediment and on the ΣCO2:NH+4 regenerative ratio in the pore waters. In sediments from Bransfield Strait, the Gulf of California, and the Peru margin, both release mechanisms for Mg+2—ligand competition and ion exchange with ammonium—were evaluated as part of the complex reaction system in order to explain the observed maxima in the dissolved magnesium profiles. Overlying the Mg+2 maxima, the Bransfield Strait and Gulf of California pore waters show minima in the dissolved magnesium concentration, concurrent with a measured increase in the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the sediments. By including the observed CEC changes in the multi-component model we show that the negative anomaly in the dissolved Mg+2 profiles is a consequence of changes in the CEC of sediments during the very early stages of anoxic diagenesis.

Beschreibung: Juvenile cuttlefish Sepia offcinalis were hatched and reared in the laboratory at six ration levels and two temperatures. At 12.5 °C there was little growth whereas at 17.5 °C growth rate responded strongly to ration level. Nucleic acids were extracted into buffer containing 0.01% SDS and assayed by fluorescence using ethidium bromide and bis-benzimide and by absorbance at 260 nm. The sensitivity of nucleic acid assay using ethidium bromide was increased by shortening the excitation wavelength to 305 nm. RNA:DNA ratio was strongly correlated with growth rate in cuttlefish held at 17.5 °C; at 12.5 °C, the relationship was similar but not statistically significant. At low growth rates, RNA:DNA ratios were similar to those reported for larval fish; nucleic acid ratios at higher growth rates were higher than reported so far. This may be related to the very high growth rates achieved by many cephalopods.

Beschreibung: The fine fraction of surface sediment samples in the Norwegian Sea shows an unexpectedly high amount of calcareous nannoplankton. Investigations, using time-series sediment traps in the Lofoten Basin (69°N, 1983/84), near Bear Island (75°N, 1984/85) and in the Fram Strait (78°N, 1984/85) provided information about the accumulation of this material in relation to the strong seasonality of biological production. Coccolith identification and counting, by means of a scanning electron microscope, indicated that the coccolith assemblages in the traps consist almost entirely of the two speciesEmiliania huxleyi andCoccolithus pelagicus. These species dominated the flux rate of the nannoplankton carbonate. A further eight species only made minor contributions to the flux. In the Lofoten Basin a distinct seasonality could be recognized in both standing crop and carbonate flux. Also the relationship between the two main species and the proportion of intact coccospheres showed an annual cycle. In the sample series of the two northerly traps the seasonality was less distinct. In general, the coccolith flux decreases towards the North. This was particularly evident for the smaller speciesE. huxleyi, while the number of massiveC. pelagicus coccoliths — and so the coccolith carbonate flux — diminished only slightly. Additional investigations on water samples from the Norwegian Sea revealed species compositions that differed greatly from those in the sediment traps. This suggests that selective processes change the relative species proportions during sedimentation.

Beschreibung: The scientific basis for managing the short fin squid, Illex argentinus, Stock around the Falkland Islands is presented. A target proportional escapement policy is used which permits a level of fishing effort compatible with conservation targets to be set each year. This policy is intimately related to the method of assessing stock size and the rate of fishing mortality presented in a related paper. The results of applying this management procedure for the 1987 and 1988 fishing seasons, the first 2 years of regulated fishing in Falkland Islands waters, are described. The policy has the considerable benefit that the data requirements and monitoring procedures are straightforward, and can be implemented by the limited manpower resources of the islands.

Beschreibung: The present paper demonstrates the application of serological methods to the identification of fish prey in the diets of marine mammals. Antisera were raised to muscle protein extracts of cod Gadus morhua Linnaeus, herring Clupea harengus Linnaeus and salmon Salmo salar Linnaeus. The antisera were tested for reaction with protein extracts from raw and in vitro digested fish muscle; stomach contents of captive dolphins Tursiops truncatus Montagu fed on known dites; digestive tract contents of seals Halichoerus grypus Fabricius and Phoca vitulina Linnaeus which contained hard remains of known prey species; and faeces of captive seals fed on known diets. The salmon antisera were shown to be sufficiently strong and specific to be used for identification of salmonid proteins in digestive tract contentc of marine mammals, and were potentially applicable to screening seal faeces. Antisera raised to cod and herring were less successful, due to low speificity and low titre, rspectively. The potential exists to develop this methodology for routine identification of a range of prey species in marine mammal diets.

Beschreibung: Two case studies of the application of geoscientific maps for planning in semi-arid regions are presented, one for the Mediterranean province of Valencia and another for the island of Gran Canaria (Canaries). Both regions are very dynamic from the point of view of population growth and urban-touristic-industrial development, and they suffer from a serious degree of environmental degradation. The provincial/ island governments have undertaken programmes of geoscientific mapping and assessment to serve as a basis for the establishment of guidelines for future planning. Two map sets have been made (1:200,000 in Valencia and 1:50,000 in Gran Canaria), based on initial maps of homogeneous integrated units. These represent a series of hierarchical land subdivisions, progressively smaller and more detailed (morphodynamic environments, systems, units, elements), defined on the basis of morphostructure, climate, lithology, surficial deposits, landforms, topography, active processes, soils, vegetation and human influence. Each individual map unit is described by means of a form which includes 114 items, summarising its environmental features. Morphodynamic units have been evaluated in terms of qualities significant for planning, and a series of derivative maps has been developed (geologic hazards, soil capability, present degree of erosion, potential erodibility, quality for conservation). A final map shows the most advisable types of uses and the main limitations for human activities, mainly due to engineering geological factors. This is a synthesis document which can be used directly by planners.