ALBERT

Description: Males of Eledone cirrhosa grow to a size little over 600 g and normally have well-developed, and presumably active, reproductive organs from about 200 g upwards. Total weight of the genital bag is well correlated with total body weight (r= 0·906). Growth of the testis precedes that of the spermatophoric sac, and the size of neither of these reproductive components is predictable from body weight. The sizes of these organs and the estimated number and length of stored spermatophores are given for 100 g intervals of total body weight. No evidence was obtained for a seasonal trend in male maturity.

Description: A survey of the ecology of the octopus Eledone cirrhosa in Scottish waters is compiled from structured interviews with fishermen, records of occurrence in traps (for lobster and crab), and a research vessel survey. This species is widespread and common throughout the inshore waters covered by fishing activity (shoreline- 140 m) on bottom types ranging through rock, stones, sand and mud. It is caught in all months of the year but is especially common inshore in the summer (July-September) and further offshore on trawling grounds in October-December. The octopus is a normal and regular predator of large Crustacea (Hotnarus, Nephrops, Cancer) caught in commercial traps but gut contents yield little identifiable dietary remains.

Description: Food samples from 27 Buller’s mollymawks Diomedea bulleri from the New Zealand region showed that cephalopods were, by frequency of occurrence and by mass, their preferred food. Fish, crustaceans, and tunicates, in decreasing order of importance, also were taken. Seventeen species of Cephalopoda were identified by their beaks, with 78.5% of individuals belonging to the Ommastrephidae (77% Nototodarus spp.) and 10% to the Histioteuthidae. The diet was compared with that of four other small species of Diomedea, and found to be similar to that of D. chrysostoma, D. irrorata, and D. cauta, but different from that of D. melanophris, whose preferred food is euphausiids. Squid-fishing operations around New Zealand may come into competition with Buller’s mollymawk.

Description: Many of the difficulties of staining plastic embedded tissues for light and electron microscopy derive from physical exclusion of hydrophilic staining reagents by hydrophobic embedding media. Structures which stain most intensely with hydrophilic reagents usually contain less hydrophobic plastic than do non-staining structures. Such incomplete infiltration is apparently caused by exclusion of viscous, hydrophobic monomers by physically dense and/or well hydrated tissue elements. In keeping with this, generalized staining of tissues embedded in hydrophobic media does occur when hydrophobic reagents are used. Staining of plastic-free structures with single hydrophilic reagents or with sequences of such reagents, is, however, largely rate-controlled. The surprising similarity of hydrophilic and hydrophobic plastic embedding media is discussed. Limits of this simple model are explored, with a consideration of the roles of fixative and of monomer-tissue reactions

Description: Foraging rate was highly variable among shore crabs of the same size category and for individual crabs from day to day. Possible physiological reasons for this variability are discussed. Shore crab foraging rate, both in terms of mussels eaten per day and energy intake per day, was estimated to be higher at 17°C than at 10°C. The shape of diet curves and their mode for male shore crabs at 17°C closely resembled those for 10°C, indicating that the temperature increase had no effect on their previously demonstrated optimal foraging strategy. Female and certain male shore crabs showed a preference for prey smaller than for other equivalent sized males. These suboptimally feeding male and female crabs attained a relatively higher prédation rate (mussels day‐1), although their energy intake (KJ day‐1) remained lower than that of optimally feeding males. Preferred mussel size, number of mussels eaten per day and energy intake were strongly related to master chela height. The diet curves for female and suboptimally feeding male shore crabs could be explained by these crabs’ proportionately smaller master chelae.

Description: The importance of feeding pattern is well documented in fish (Jenkins & Green, 1977; Simenstad & Cailliet, 1986) but there are not many reported studies in cephalopods. Feeding patterns, as defined by Jenkins & Green (1977) have been studied, to our knowledge, only in Todarodes pacificus (Okiyama, 1965), Loligo pealei (Vovk, 1972), Loligo opalescens (Karpov & Cailliet, 1978), Illex illecebrosus (Amaratunga et ah, 1979; Amaratunga, 1980) and Nototodarus gouldi (O'Sullivan & Cullen, 1983). Boyle (1983) dealt with aspects of feeding in several cephalopod species but not specifically with feeding pattern. Aspects of feeding in Sepia officinalis have been reviewed by Nixon (1987). The present work describes the daily feeding pattern in Sepia officinalis from data collected in the field.

Description: Squid regurgitated by Greyheaded and Yellownosed Albatrosses at the Prince Edward Islands were predominantly two onychoteuthid species, Kondakovia longimana and Moroteuthis knipovitchi. Both squid are characteristic of cold, Antarctic waters and may have been caught south of the Antarctic Convergence, some 350 km to the south of the breeding station. Both albatross species regurgitated similar squid (by species and size), and these squid were similar to those found in previous studies of the diet of Wandering, Sooty and Lightmantled Sooty Albatrosses at the Prince Edward Islands

Description: We present chemical data on magmatically heterogeneous pyroclastic deposits of late Quaternary age erupted from zoned magma systems underlying Tenerife (Canary Islands), Sao Miguel and Faial (Azores), and Vesuvius. The most fractionated magmas present at each centre are respectively Na-rich phonolite, trachyte, and K-rich phonolite. Within any one deposit, chemical variation is either accompanied by changes in the phenocryst assemblage (petrographic zonation) or is largely manifested in trace element abundances, unaccompanied by any petrographic change (occult zonation). Zoning is analogous to that in calc-alkaline systems where the most fractionated products are high-silica rhyolites. When a range of magma types are considered, a correlation emerges between roofward depletion of trace elements (especially REE) in the zoned system and compatability of those same trace elements in the accessory phenocryst phases present. Thus, allanite- or chevkinite-bearing rhyolitic systems are light-REE depleted roofwards, the sphene-bearing Tenerife system is middle-REE depleted roofwards, the melanite-bearing Vesuvius system is heavy-REE depleted roofwards, while the Azores systems, which lack these phases, display roofward REE enrichment. Therefore, the behaviour of trace elements may in each case be explained by fractionation of observed phenocryst assemblages. The resemblance between features of zoned magma systems and published work on the dynamic consequences of cooling saturated aqueous solutions prompts us to suggest that sidewall crystallization and consequent boundary-layer uprise to form a capping layer at top of the system may be a plausible mechanism for the generation of both petrographic and occult zonation. Reverse zoning occurs among the first-erupted tephra of some deposits, demonstrating that the most highly differentiated magma available is not always the first to be tapped during an eruption from a zoned system.

Description: Changes in the relative size of the ovary, oviducal glands and eggs are described for Eledone cirrhosa captured from the North Sea off Aberdeen over a 3 year period (N = 488). The analysis is based only on freshly caught animals, excluding those held in aquarium conditions (〉 5 days). Ovary enlargement and egg size estimates are used as indices of sexual maturity. Between 0–15% and 18–95% of total body weight is contributed by the ovary. Maximum egg length in the ovary ranges up to 7 mm. On these criteria, sexual maturation typically occurs at body sizes between 400–1000 g although some animals of 1000–1200 g are found showing no evidence of ovary enlargement. The majority of the monthly sample is always immature but maturation can apparently occur at almost any time of the year. Increase in mean ovary index and mean values for egg size are strongly seasonal and indicate a peak incidence of sexual maturity over 2–3 months in the July-September period. Spawning is presumed to follow within 1 month. Estimates of the fecundity of the females, based on the egg sample from the ovary, range from 2·2 × 103 to 55 × 10 3 eggs with a mean of 11 × 10 3 and a mode of 7·5 × 10 3 eggs.

Description: Female Eledone cirrhosa held in aquarium conditions for periods of time of five daysand over show relatively enlarged ovary sizes. Values for ovary index considerably exceed thoseof freshly caught animals and the incidence of the final stage of maturity, in which eggs pack the oviducts, is greater. A comparison of maturity indices for fresh and aquarium males was inconclusive. The range of factors associated with aquarium conditions is briefly reviewed and it is concluded that studies of cephalopod reproductive maturation must distinguish fresh and aquarium animals. Introduction External factors effective in inducing sexual maturation in cephalopods have been suggested several times. The influence of the absence of light has been implicated since the experiments of Wells & Wells (1959) showed that blinded Octopus vulgar is matured precociously. An effect of short day length in stimulating the optic glands of Sepia has been found by Defretin & Richard (1967) and Richard (1967) but this is not clearly the case for Octopus (Buckley, 1977). Octopuses kept in aquarium conditions for lengthy periods are said to have larger relative gonad sizes than those fresh from the sea (Wells & Wells, 1975). One of the factors associated with aquarium conditions is often a degree of starvation, and this circumstance alone is held to be a factor in inducing precocious sexual maturation in Eledone (Mangold & Boucher-Rodoni, 1973). In the course of recent studies on the growth and reproduction of Eledone cirrhosa from the North Sea (Boyle & Knobloch, 1982,1983,1984) animals which had remained in aquarium conditions for 5 days or over were separated from the analysis.

Description: Santorini volcanic field has had 12 major (1–10 km3 or more of magma), and numerous minor, explosive eruptions over the last ~ 200 ka. Deposits from these eruptions (Thera Pyroclastic Formation) are well exposed in caldera-wall successions up to 200 m thick. Each of the major eruptions began with a pumice-fall phase, and most culminated with emplacement of pyroclastic flows. Pyroclastic flows of at least six eruptions deposited proximal lag deposits exposed widely in the caldera wall. The lag deposits include coarse-grained lithic breccias (andesitic to rhyodacitic eruptions) and spatter agglomerates (andesitic eruptions only). Facies associations between lithic breccia, spatter agglomerate, and ignimbrite from the same eruption can be very complex. For some eruptions, lag deposits provide the only evidence for pyroclastic flows, because most of the ignimbrite is buried on the lower flanks of Santorini or under the sea. At least eight eruptions tapped compositionally heterogeneous magma chambers, producing deposits with a range of zoning patterns and compositional gaps. Three eruptions display a silicic–silicic + mafic–silicic zoning not previously reported. Four eruptions vented large volumes of dacitic or rhyodacitic pumice, and may account for 90% or more of all silicic magma discharged from Santorini. The Thera Pyroclastic Formation and coeval lavas record two major mafic-to-silicic cycles of Santorini volcanism. Each cycle commenced with explosive eruptions of andesite or dacite, accompanied by construction of composite shields and stratocones, and culminated in a pair of major dacitic or rhyodacitic eruptions. Sequences of scoria and ash deposits occur between most of the twelve major members and record repeated stratocone or shield construction following a large explosive eruption. Volcanism at Santorini has focussed on a deep NE–SW basement fracture, which has acted as a pathway for magma ascent. At least four major explosive eruptions began at a vent complex on this fracture. Composite volcanoes constructed north of the fracture were dissected by at least three caldera-collapse events associated with the pyroclastic eruptions. Southern Santorini consists of pryoclastic ejecta draped over a pre-volcanic island and a ridge of early- to mid-Pleistocene volcanics. The southern half of the present-day caldera basin is a long-lived, essentially non-volcanic, depression, defined by topographic highs to the south and east, but deepened by subsidence associated with the main northern caldera complex, and is probably not a separate caldera.

Description: A new species of a monogenean Isancistrum subulatae (Gyrodactylidae) has been discovered on the arms and tentacles of the cephalopod mollusc Alloteuthis subulata at Plymouth and I. loliginis, on the gills of the same host, has been re-discovered for the first time since its original description in 1912. I. subulatae, like other gyrodactylids, is viviparous, and has been shown by experiments to transfer to new hosts by contagion. In nature such transfers probably take place during copulation of the hosts and since the parasite may occur in numbers of several thousands per host, it may thereby constitute a venereal disease.

Description: The behaviour of Chelophyes has been analysed from the point of view of coordination between stem and nectophores, and an electron microscope study of the effectors and conducting elements has been carried out. Coordination between the stem and anterior nectophore involves two pathways, one epithelial and the other nervous. The nervous link consists of a bundle of small neurites and a single giant axon. There is some evidence that this mediates rapid escape behaviour. After the nerves have been cut, coordination is maintained via the epithelial route. Impulses can jump from epithelial cells into nerves but the transmission process is unclear. Neuro‐epithelial transmission involves conventional synapses. As in physonectid siphonophores, the stem has two nervous systems each with its own giant fibre, and a slow system, the endodermal epithelium. In the nectophore, marginal nerve centres generate a swimming rhythm. Conduction in the subumbrellar muscle is myoid. The exumbrellar epithelium and the subumbrellar endoderm are conducting tissues. Histological study reveals synapses in the predicted locations and gives details of myo‐epithelial organization and nervous layout. Novel histological features include elements resembling steroid‐secreting cells, which ensheath nerves and are innervated by them, and innervated giant non‐nervous cells lying between the nerve ring and the hydroecium. The subumbrellar muscle cells are shown to have sarcolemmal invaginations reminiscent of the f‐tubule system of vertebrate muscle.

Description: The major light and dark components of body displays are described and classified for the octopus Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck) under aquarium conditions. Comparisons are made with Octopus vulgaris and Eledone moschata. Upon the basic similarity of white display components in the three species is superimposed a trend of modification. Dark components are less various in Eledone cirrhosa and although the chromatophores are organised with leucophores into chromatic units these are not clearly limited morphologically by “grooves”. The mottle patterns of Eledone seem to be arranged along the longitudinal and latitudinal (radial) axes of the animal, the grade of mottle does not respond to grade of background contrast.

Description: The diet of Northern Rockhopper Penguins Eudyptes chrysocome moseleyi breeding on Gough Island, south Atlantic Ocean was studied, during November 1984, 1985 and 1986 by stomach content analysis. Rockhopper Penguins fed chiefly on the euphausiids Thysanoessa gregaria, Euphausia lucens and E. similis. Fish and squid were of minor importance by mass but constituted the largest individual prey items.

Description: The feeding biology of the nectobenthic, sepiolid squid, Sepietta oweniana is treated based on behavioural observations in aquaria and stomach content analyses on 859 trawl caught squid. Juvenile squid in aquaria catch free-swimming prey, preferably the mysid Praunus flexuosus, day and night using the bottom only for shorter resting periods. Adult squid forage from dusk till dawn from positions close to the bottom and spend the day buried in the bottom. Praunus flexuosus is preferred as prey in comparison with demersal and benthic crustaceans as Palaemon elegans and Crangon crangon. Stomach analyses show that in daytime catches, only 16% of all analyzed specimens had stomach contents. Low frequencies were consistent throughout most sampled months in 1979 and 1982. Of the specimens with stomach contents most (50–100%) contained fragments of the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica. Specimens with remains of decapod shrimps were found in late spring and early summer. It is concluded that S. oweniana feeds in the hyperbenthic habitat at very low light intensities mostly on Meganyctiphanes norvegica in northern waters. A tentative ecological trade off explanation for this apparently inefficient feeding pattern is briefly discussed.

Description: Two species of arrow squid, Nototodarus (Oegopsida: Ommastrephidae), are caught in New Zealand waters. The close similarity in most morphometric characters has lead to confusion over the status of the two species. They are distinguished by the number of pairs of suckers on the first right arm; adult males are distinguished by the number of proximal tubercles and the morphology of the distal part of the hectocotylised arm; fresh or frozen specimens can be identified by gel elec‐trophoresis of the enzyme glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase. Nototodarus sloanii is found in southern waters and N. gouldi in more northerly waters around New Zealand as well as southern waters of Australia. Differences between the two species are described and notes presented on their biology, abundance, and exploitation.

Description: Serological methods for prey identification have been applied to the gut contents of a field sample of 100 Eledone cirrhosa from the Moray Firth and 7 from the Sound of Jura. Protein extracts from the crop were electrophoresed (Laurell rockets) into antisera raised against potential crustacean prey species, Cancer pagurus, Carcinus maenas, Crangon crangon, Liocarcinus spp. and Nephrops norvegicus. The strengths of the resulting reactions were evaluated on the basis of peak height, staining density and the number of homocentric peaks of immune precipitates. Sixty-two of the 100 Moray Firth animals gave a positive reaction to one or more of the antisera and the most critical assessment of the results ranked the incidence of the prey as Liocarcinus (15) 〉 Nephrops (10) 〉 Cancer (8) 〉 Crangon (2) 〉 Carcinus (0), a total of 35 reactions from 28 animals. Absence of a reaction in the 38 animals from which appreciable sample volumes were also obtained indicates that alternative prey had been consumed. Of the 7 Sound of Jura animals, 4 gave a positive reaction to Nephrops alone. A total of only 24 animals gave any indication of diet by visual recognition of remains. The value and difficulties of the methodology are discussed.

Description: The growth of the octopus Eledone cirrhosa has been studied in a population from the North Sea off Aberdeen. Data are presented for the growth of individuals isolated in aquarium conditions; the growth of size classes in thefieldpopulation; and preliminary information on the growth relationships of gonad, somatic, cardiac and brain components of the body. At 15 °C Eledone cirrhosa is capable of growing from 10 to 1000 g in 270 days. From octopuses which feed readily in captivity, weight specific growth rates of up to about 3–5 % day-1 for animals of 100 g body weight are recorded, falling to a maximum of about 1–5 % day-1 at body sizes above 500 g. Females stop growing when sexually mature, but in the sample captured they were consistently larger than males, a feature which may account for the 7:1 bias towards the incidence of females. On a wet-weight basis, the mean food incorporation into growth is 37 % of the food ingested, which is 49% of the gross weight of crabs killed. Field data for 1978/79 suggest that animals recruited to the population at the beginning of the year grew steadily until December, overwintered without growing, then grew rapidly for several months in the subsequent year before disappearing from the samples. The estimated average age of those animals and by implication, the life span, is 20 months.

Description: The Imperial Cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps is an inshore foraging, diving seabird (Cooper 1985) distributed throughout the southern hemisphere south of 45°S (Watson 1975). A brief description of the diet of the Imperial Cormorant at Marion Island has been published (Blankley 1981). We present here a more comprehensive report based on food samples collected throughout the year.

Description: The development of natural plankton populations in tanks (1000l) and in Kiel Bight is compared with special references to mechanisms affecting species composition in spring and early summer. In a first experiment, three tanks filled with surface water just prior to the bloom (February 1983) were held under different light conditions. Exponential growth coincided with onset of the growth in the field. Growth in the two darkened tanks was retarded. In the field, a bloom of mainly Thalassiosira polychorda was observed, whereas in the light tank Thlassiosira 'pseudonana' and in the two darker tanks Skeletonema costatum were the domninant species. The observed shift in species compositions between tanks and in the field can be attributed partly to differences in growth strategies of species involved but also to the specific effect of population enclosure. In a second experiment (May/ June 1983) the influence of grazing pressure was studied in two tanks with different abundance of metazooplankton. Nauplii as well as large protozoans were grazed down more rapidly than the samller phytoflagellates, which confirmed earlier hypotheses based on field observations. After decline of grazers, possibly due to starvation, a succession from bacteria to nanoflagellates and then ciliates was observed.

Description: Before making a critical evaluation of the crude oil and natural gas prospects for the years to the end of the century, it is necessary to review the geology and structure of the three German hydrocarbon-producing provinces. Furthermore, past exploration, production and reserves should be discussed. The three hydrocarbon-producing provinces are: the NW German Basin, the Upper Rhine Graben and the Molasse Basin, which together make up about 41% of West German territory (Fig. 1). The NW German Basin contains a sedimentary sequence over 8,000 m thick ranging in age from Permian to Quaternary. Gas and oil, the two natural hydrocarbons, are generally confined to separate lower and higher stratigraphic levels respectively (Fig. 2). The NW German Basin is the most important prospective area in West Germany. It extends into the North Sea. The tectonic rift feature of the Upper Rhine Graben originated in the Eocene. The Tertiary fill is over 4,000 m thick. Oil is found mainly in Mesozoic, Eocene and Oligocene rocks; the Miocene and Pliocene reservoir rocks contain natural gas almost exclusively (Fig. 3). The Molasse Basin is part of the foredeep north of the Alpine and Carpathian mountain ranges. The basin is filled with Upper Eocene to Pliocene and Quaternary sediments which, near the Alpine nappes, reach a thickness of over 5,000m (Fig. 4). During this century there were peaks in annual oil-production in 1910, 1940 and 1968 (see Fig. 5). The 1910 peak was the result of drilling activity in the Wietze oilfield. During the period 1934–1945, government financial aid was made available for drilling exploration wells. The success of this collaboration is demonstrated by the oil output in 1940 of 1 × 106 t. After World War II, many different types of oil-bearing structure were found, particularly by reflection seismic techniques in conjunction with detailed stratigraphical and palaeogeographical investigations. The success achieved can be seen by the peak of 8 × 106 t oil production for 1968 (Fig. 5) and in the growth of oil reserves (Fig. 7). Intensive exploration also enabled many new gasfields to be developed, especially in the deeper horizons of the NW German Basin. In 1971, estimated gas reserves reached 360 × 109 m3 (Fig. 11), and annual gas production in 1979 was 20.7 × 109 m3 (731 Bcf) (Fig. 9). There is, no doubt, still scope for the discovery and exploitation of oil and gas in Germany, especially in the NW German Basin where the best prospects for the future lie. This is borne out by two recent offshore oil discoveries and also by the successful application of enhanced recovery methods in the oilfields. The chances of finding more gas at the lower stratigraphic levels are promising now that gas has been discovered in the deeper parts of the Permian basin. The results of massive-hydraulic-fracturing tests in low-permeability pay-horizons are also encouraging. The deeper parts of oil- and gas-producing basins contain interesting prospects and have yet to be tested by ultra-deep wells. Provided that the economic climate remains favourable, there should be no difficulty in finding and supplying German oil and gas in the future. Geologically and technically possible reserves should be converted into proven and/or probable reserves. German crude oil will be available for several years beyond the year 2000, and German natural gas for a far longer time. A production rate of 19 to 20 × 109 m3 of gas per annum is feasible over the next twenty years, and oil production will probably not sink below 3 × 106 t/a in this period.

Description: The planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer (Brady) was cultured under two different light intensities and in continuous darkness. High light intensity (HLI = 4oo-soo einsteins/m2/s) resulted in a longer lifespan, a greater number of chambers formed, and a larger final shell size compared with individuals cultured under low light intensity (LLI = 20-50 einsteins/m2/s) or in continuous darkness. Shell growth rates were unaffected by increasing light intensity, but gametogenesis was delayed. Continuous darkness induced a rapid onset of gametogenesis in organisms with shell lengths larger than 250 m. Feeding frequency had a greater effect on growth and reproduction than light intensity under conditions of LLI and HLI, but continuous darkness had an overriding effect on growth and reproduction owing to the rapid onset of gametogenesis which terminated the life of the mother cell. Our previous data indicated that the longevity of G. sacculifer was dependent on feeding frequency, and that G. sacculifer cultured under LLI had a lifespan of approximately 2-4 weeks. Present results suggest that the lifespan can vary from a minimum of 8 days for organisms fed daily in continuous darkness to a maximum of 54 days for organisms fed once every 7 days and maintained in HLI. It is concluded that individual G. sacculifer attain a shell size greater than 6oo ,urn only if they maintain their position in the euphotic zone. Prolonged existence below the euphotic zone would result in premature death or gametogenesis following stunted shell growth.

Description: We studied the formation of exocellular precipitates of struvite (Mg NH4PO4.6H2O) by 96 kinds of calcite‐pro‐ducing bacterial strains isolated from soil. We also studied the influence of calcium ions on struvite precipitation. The number of strains producing struvite was 20. Only four consistently formed large amounts. These results seem to indicate that the bacterial precipitation of struvite is not a general phenomenon. The strains studied were taxonomically identified, and no relationship was found between the production of struvite and the taxonomic identity of such strains. Calcium, supplied as Ca acetate in the culture medium, appeared to inhibit the biological precipitation of struvite.

Description: In a midoceanic region of the northeast Atlantic, patches of freshly deposited phytodetritus were discovered on the sea floor at a 4500 m depth in July/August 1986. The color of phytodetritus was variable and was obviously related to the degree of degradation. Microscopic analyses showed the presence of planktonic organisms from the euphotic zone, e.g., cyanobacteria, small chlorophytes, diatoms, coccolithophorids, silicoflagellates, dinoflagellates, tintinnids, radiolarians, and foraminifers. Additionally, crustacean exuviae and a great number of small fecal pellets, “minipellets,” were found. Although bacteria were abundant in phytodetritus, their number was not as high as in the sediment. Phytodetrital aggregates also contained a considerable number of benthic organisms such as nematodes and special assemblages of benthic foraminifers. Pigment analyses and the high content of particulate organic carbon indicated that the phytodetritus was relatively undegraded. Concentrations of proteins, carbohydrates, chloroplastic pigments, total adenylates, and bacteria were found to be significantly higher in sediment surface samples when phytodetritus was present than in equivalent samples collected at the same stations in early spring prior to phytodetritus deposition. Only the electron transport system activity showed no significant difference between the two sets of samples, which may be caused by physiological stress during sampling (decompression, warming). The chemical data of phytodetritus samples displayed a great variability indicative of the heterogeneous nature of the detrital material. The gut contents of various megafauna (holothurians, asteroids, sipunculids, and actiniarians) included phytodetritus showing that the detrital material is utilized as a food source by a wide range of benthic organisms. Our data suggest that the detrital material is partly rapidly consumed and remineralized at the sediment surface and partly incorporated into the sediment. Incubations of phytodetritus under simulated in situ conditions and determination of the biological oxygen demand under surface water conditions showed that part of its organic matter can be biologically utilized. Based on the measured standing stock of phytodetritus, it is estimated that 0.3–3% of spring primary production sedimented to the deep-sea floor. Modes of aggregate formation in the surface waters, their sedimentation, and distribution on the seabed are discussed.

Description: Illex illecebrosus squid appear to have a species‐typical and internally organized spatial arrangement of their groups. Squid maintained an average angle of 25° with respect to their nearest neighbour, and mostly had angular deviations between 5° and 20°. They maintained distances to nearest, second and third neighbours in a ratio of 1:1.5:2. The distances were strongly affected by group size (4, 20, or 38), with larger groups maintaining closer distances. Interindividual distances were not affected by two variables, day‐night and presence of a current in the large pool in which they were kept. The similarity of this organization to that of fish schools is discussed.

Description: There are many kinds of squid and cuttlefish in the oceans of the world, and the stock sizes of some are presumed to be large. However, few attempts have been made to quantitatively assess standing stocks. In Japan, the commercial yield ranges from 400,000 to 900,000 metric tons annually, accounting for about 50 to 80% of the total cephalopod catch in the world. Jigging surveys have been conducted since 1971 in the Sea of Japan and since 1973 in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Their purpose has been to assess the abundance of oceanic squid. The stock size index (N) and the density index (F) for Todarodes pacificus, Ommastrephes bartrami, and Onychoteuthis borealijaponica were calculated for the Pacific from 1968 to 1979 and for the Sea of Japan from 1971 to 1979. N and F correspond reasonably well to periodic changes in the annual yield (Y) of T. pacificus in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan. Since Y is presumed to correspond well to abundance, the results of these surveys give rough estimates of T. pacificus abundance. Changes in N and F for O. bartrami and O. borealijaponica do not show good correspondence with Y, probably because the study area covers only a part of the range of the two species.

Description: Growth is described from size-at-age data. Size-at-age was determined from counts of daily growth rings on the statoliths of 65 individuals. A mean growth rate of 2 mm/day was calculated for a dorsal mantle length range of 15-52 cm. The month in which each individual hatched was back-calculated from the age data. A histogram of the frequency of hatching through the year is presented and shows peaks in May and October.

Description: Change of colour, consistency and pH in contents of the caecum and the stomach of laboratory-maintained long-finned squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii were determined. There was relatively little variability in any of these parameters of the specimens investigated. Colour and consistency of food or emulsion were used as a basis of analysis of stomach-caecum contents of wild squid. Most squid fed late during the night and/or during the early morning, and the frequency of caecum colour categories did not change much between trawls. Wild squid preyed upon different organisms according to their size. Squid of 69–125 mm dorsal mantle length fed mainly on euphausiids (95% by frequency of occurrence, 87,5% by mass) and those of 126–240 mm mainly on fish (78 and 74,3% respectively) with Bregmaceros?macclellandii and hake as important components. Unidentified fish in the stomachs (i.e. those from which no otoliths were available) probably also belonged to these two species.

Description: Loligo forbesi Steenstrup is a commercially and biomedically important species raneing from Scotland to North Africa and from the Azores Islands in the central Atlantic east through the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. Eggs were collected from Plymouth. England and from the Azores and the hatchlings were reared to adult size in recirculating seawater systems. Growth data were obtained primarily from mortalities during the course of three culture experiments which lasted 360, 240 and 480 days. Loligo forbesi hatched at a size of 5–9mg (3.0–4.6mm mantle length, ML) and grew to a maximum size of 124g (155 mm ML) in 413 days. In all experiments, growth was exponential in form for at least the first 3 months at rales of 5.8, 5.1 and 3.6% body weight per day (BW/d) at mean temperatures of 14.1, 14.0 and 13.1°C respectively. In one short-term experiment, month-old squids grew at 8.0% BW/d at 17.4°C. Growth beyond 3 months was slower and either logarithmic (as described by the power function) or exponential in form. Growth rates gradually declined to 1–2% BW/d, Analyses of mantle length growth confirmed the wet weight results. There was no evidence of sexual dimorphism in the laboratory populations, which were of small size, and the length-weight (L-W) relationships were found to be similar to those of field populations. Growth rates during the exponential growth phase appeared very sensitive to temperature, with a 1°C difference changing growth rate by 2% BW/d and producing a three-fold difference in weight at 90 days post-hatching. These dramatic effects of temperature on adult size and lifespan in nature are discussed. It is hypothesized that the small size of mature laboratory-reared squids was due to low culture temperatures during the first 3 months.

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 western margin of the Tauera Window (Eastern Alps) is defined by a low angle westward dipping fault zone of potently We disp lacement. Ductile deformation of the fault rocks results in a carpet of mylonites up to 400 metres thick. Evidence from shear criteria and the excision of part of the Cretaceous-Tertiary metamorphic edifice both indicate normal displacements, and relative movement of Austroalpine nappe complex towards the west. The Sterzing-Steinach mylonite zone overprints the Alpine nappe edifice. Movements occurred on the cooling path of the Tauern metamorphism, and may be as recent as Middle Miocene. The Kinematics and geometry of the mylonite zone constrain two likely t ectonic explanations that are both compatible with secondary thining of a thick orogenic wedge. (1) Ute the Austroalpine nappe pile due to tectonic unroofing of the Tauern window. (2) Continental escape by east-west stretching of the Alpine orogenic wedge in response to continental collision.

Description: Chemical composition of Zostera marina L. seed and shoots was determined. Morphology and histochemistry of mature seeds were studied by fluorescence, brightfield and scanning electron microscopy to locate storage constituents in the seed. Starch content in the mature seed was 51% and was the major storage reserve in the embryo and a minor component in the testa. Starch in the shoots ranged from 0.3 to 2.3%. Protein, located in the embryo as small protein bodies, comprised about 9.0% of the seed. Protein in shoots ranged from 6–15%. Protein quality of both seeds and shoots resembled corn in composition, and the first limiting amino acid was lysine. Shoots were high in minerals, fiber and ash, while seeds were lower in these constituents. Fat was low (0.3–1.7%) in both shoots and seeds.

Description: Five hundred and twenty-eight specimens of Loligo forbesi Steenstrup, from landings in Horta, Faial, Azores, during the year 1 March 1980 to 28 February 1981, were tudied; 59·3 % were males, 40·7 % females. Of the males 80·2 % were sexually mature, of the females 91·6 %, both sexes showing the highest degree of maturity in spring and he lowest in autumn. The mean dorsal mantle length of the mature males was 56·5 cm, or females 33·5 cm. A weight-length relationship was calculated. he stomachs of 622 specimens were sampled, of which 306 contained food. The prey omponents were studied qualitatively. The main prey was fish (82·0%), of which 0·5 % were horse mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, this being the most important food rganism. Preliminary results of statolith readings are given.

Description: Three large data sets on cephalopods are critically examined with respect to several sources of error: day-night avoidance, net size, mode of fishing, and patchiness. Catches are low and variable and results only suggest problems with present sampling techniques. Specific field sampling is suggested to quantify several of these sources of error. Volume filtered and time fished are compared as measures of "effort." Variability of volume filtered and net speed within a single tow are examined.

Description: Recently the influence of an electric light on the capture of the main groups of deep sea animals by a midwater trawl was described and discussed (Clarke & Pascoe, 1985). With regard to fish it was shown that at depths close to 800 m the total number, the total volume, the volume of the ten largest and the volume of the single largest fish all increased significantly when an electric light was used on the headline of the trawl when compared with controls with the light off. These experiments were carried out both in the Bay of Biscay and off Madeira.

Description: This is a study of larval abundance and distributional pattern of the winter population of the Japanese common squid, Todarodes pacificus Steenstrup, based on plankton net collections made by the R/V Soyo-Maru during January to March (1959–1976) in the seas extending from the south of Kyushu to the Pacific coast of central and eastern Honshu. The larval abundance index (LI) was compared with CPUE (catch per boat day), an index of recruitment of adult stock size. The main spawning ground of this population is located to the southwest of Kyushu. The larvae (rhynchoteuthion) grow while they are advected by the Kuroshio Current to the northeast. Hence early larvae are more abundant in the west, while advanced larvae are more abundant in the east. Mortality seems to be highest for stages up to several millimeters DML than for later stages. The stock size of the Pacific winter population has fluctuated greatly. It declined since the peak 1960 year class to very low levels. The decrease of the stock size took place in three phases. 1960–1963: While the stock size (CPUE) of the 1960 year class was large, the larval population (LI) produced by this year class was very low, resulting in a decrease of recruitment (CPUE) in following years. 1964–1969: The larval abundance for the 1964 year class was second highest (next to 1960) but the recruitment was remarkably low, probably because of unfavorable conditions for survival during the period between larval and advanced stages. This failure caused a further decrease of larval abundance for the 1965 and subsequent year classes. 1970–1976: The larval abundance remains at a very low level and CPUE has declined since 1970. Because of the short life-span (one year) of this squid, abrupt decreases of larval abundance and/or recruitment have a serious effect on stock size. The future recovery of the stock will depend on biotic and physical conditions that are favorable for the survival of early stages south of Kyushu. A significant positive correlation between catch per effort of adults and the abundance of larvae (LI) in the following year indicates that larval abundance can be used to assess the size of the spawning stock of the winter population of T. pacificas.

Description: Growth laminations were first noted in squid statoliths by Clarke (1966), who suggested they might be useful for age determination. Spratt (1978) presented a detailed age analysis of Loligo opalescens Berry, 1911, arguing that some rings in the cephalopod statolith were deposited daily, as are fish otoliths (Panella, 1971). Growth rings in Illex illecebrosus (Lesueur, 1921) statoliths were illustrated by Lipinski (1978) with similar interpretation to that of Spratt (op. cit.). Several further attempts have been made to validate and/or to discuss age determination from statoliths (Hurley, Drew & Radtke, 1979; Hurley et al. 1983; Wiborg, 1979; Hurley & Beck, 1980; Kristensen, 1980; Lipinski, 1980, 1981; Rosenberg, Wiborg & Bech, 1981; Martins, 1982; Radtke, 1983; Dawe et al. 1984), and several other attempts are in preparation (R. J. Hanlon, G. V. Hurley, M. R. Clarke & R. L. Radtke, personal communications).

Description: The effect of two 70 W underwater electric lamps on the catch rate of a commercial bottom otter trawl was determined by comparative trials both at night and in daylight. It was found that, although the overall numbers and weights of fish caught did not differ, most of the species which were caught in large enough numbers for a judgement to be made showed a reaction to light. Three species, Trachurus trachurus, Merlangius merlangus and Trisopterus minutus were attracted and four species, Eutriglagurnardus, Micromesistius poutassou, Merluccius merluccius and Limanda limanda were scared off by light. The possible use of lights to further the development of selective commercial bottom trawling by attracting or scaring particular species is discussed.

Description: The diet of Ommastrephes bartramii (Lesueur, 1821) was determined by analysing the stomach contents of 73 squid caught in the South-West Atlantic Ocean. There were three main prey groups, Cephalopoda (in 82% of the squid stomachs), Osteichthyes (34%) and Crustacea (18%). Cannibalism was common. Squid of the families Histioteuthidae and Enoploteuthidae and other teuthoids were less frequent in the diet. The fish prey was predominantly Myctophidae, of various species. The bulk of the prey was mesopelagic species that migrate into the epipelagic layers at night.

Description: Methods for analysing fish stomach contents are listed and critically assessed with a view to their suitability for determining dietary importance—this term is defined. Difficulties in the application of these methods are discussed and, where appropriate, alternative approaches proposed. Modifications which have practical value are also considered. The necessity of linking measurements of dietary importance to stomach capacity is emphasized and the effects of differential digestion upon interpretation of stomach contents outlined. The best measure of dietary importance is proposed as one where both the amount and bulk of a food category are recorded.

Description: An examination of the knowledge about sampling Loligo opalescens populations leads to two general conclusions regarding the assessment of their abundance. First, it is suggested that studies concentrate on spawning ground organisms, since they aggregate during spawning, are commercially fished at this time, and their numbers can be assessed using a combination of data from market catch, adult and egg case densities, acoustic sensing, and perhaps larval densities. Second, it is suggested that large-scale acoustic surveys coupled with large midwater trawling activities be used to qualitatively assess adult organisms off the spawning grounds.

Description: The distribution of benthic foraminifera in Miocene deposits of the continental margin of southeastern South America is compared with that in the Recent. The comparison indicates that Miocene zoogeographic boundaries were located in higher latitudes than at present, suggesting that the climate at that time was warmer than now. In the Pliocene, temperatures were lower than at present. This signifies that a considerable decrease in water temperature took place in the latest Miocene or at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary in the southwestern Atlantic. The main reason for this drop in temperature was the opening of the Drake Passage and the establishment of the Circumpolar Antarctic Current and a branch — the Malvin Current. The opening resulted from strong orogenic movements, in the latest Miocene, which created the main part of the Andes. Prior to the opening of the passage, the anticyclonic (counterclockwise) gyre of surface currents in the South Atlantic was much larger and warm Brazilian waters reached higher latitudes. The Austral Strait, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, may have existed from the Cretaceous in the southern part of South America, but its location and character did not permit the establishment of the true Circumpolar Antarctic Current. The Austral Strait was closed simultaneously with the opening of the Drake Passage.

Description: Orbulina universa d'Orbigny is a spinose planktonic foraminifer which occurs throughout surface waters of the tropical, subtropical and transition zones of the world ocean (Bé & Tolderlund, 1971). This species is unique among planktonic Foraminifera in that its life cycle is composed of two growth stages. The juvenile stage is a trochospiral form which is enclosed within a terminal spherical chamber in the adult stage. O. universa is relatively omnivorous, and consumes a variety of prey that range in size and quality from phytoplankton to copepods (Bé et al. 1977; Anderson et al. 1979; Spindler et al. 1984). In addition, each individual harbors several thousand zooxanthellae which presumably are an additional source of nutrition for the foraminifer (Be et al. 1977; Hemleben & Spindler, 1983; Spero & Parker, 1985).

Description: At the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia 25 of the 29 breeding species are seabirds. Fifteen of these have recently been studied in some detail. By examining the timing of their breeding seasons and their diet and feeding ecology (especially feeding techniques and potential foraging ranges), the nature of their ecological isolating mechanisms, and in particular the way in which they partition the resources of the marine environment, are reviewed. Although breeding season adaptations occur (winter breeding in Wandering Albatross and King Penguin; out of phase breeding in two species-pairs of small petrels) these are less important than dillerences in food and feeding ecology. There is a fundamental distinction between the niche of pursuit-diving species (mainly penguins) and the remainder which are basically surface-feeders. The two abundant krill-eating penguins show clear differences in feeding zones. Three albatrosses and a petrel feed mainly on squid and there are differences in both the species and size of the prey of each. The remaining seabirds chiefly take krill (although the giant petrels are extensive scavengers and some smaller petrels specialize on copepods) and utilize different feeding methods and areas to do so. Various adaptations related to inshore and offshore feeding zones are discussed. Although most species possess a combination of ecological isolating mechanisms additional evidence for the particular importance of dietary differences is presented.

Description: Symbiotic luminous bacteria have been described in, and cultured from, a number of species offish and cephalopod. Indeed only in these two groups are extracellular luminous bacteria believed to be utilized as a source of light (see Buchner (1965) and Herring (1978) for references). Despite several earlier investigations of such symbioses in cephalopods the bacteria in these animals have not been adequately identified, nor has the extent of their role been clarified. The ultrastructural relationships between bacteria and the tissues of the squid accessory nidamental gland have been investigated in the non-luminous species Loligo pealei (Lesueur) (Bloodgood, 1977) and Sepia officinalis L. (Van den Branden et al. 1979) but no comparative work on luminous species has been undertaken apart from that on Heteroteuthis dispar (Rüppell), whose photophore does not contain typical luminous bacteria (Dilly & Herring, 1978; cf. Leisman, Cohn & Nealson, 1980). The order Sepioidea contains five families, among which are the two families Sepiolidae and Spirulidae. Though the presence of luminous bacteria is known in some sepiolids (as well as in certain loliginids (order Teuthoidea)) some doubt remains about the source of light in the photophore of Spirula spirula Hoyle. The steady luminescence of this species has prompted speculation that bacteria may be involved (Harvey, 1952). In this paper we compare the anatomy and ultrastructure of the photophores of both Sepiola and Spirula in order to clarify some of these problems.

Description: This is the first detailed analysis of cephalopod beaks from the stomach of a northern bottlenosed whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus (Forster, 1770). The digestive action of many predators barely affects the chitinous beaks of cephalopods and some cetaceans accumulate the beaks in considerable numbers in their stomachs. The present beaks are clean and unbroken. Identification of cephalopod beaks from stomachs of predators such as sperm whales (see Clarke, 1977), seals (Clarke & Trillmich, 1980) and albatrosses (Clarke, Croxall & Prince, 1980) throws considerable light on the biology and relative ecological importance of the species of cephalopods concerned as well as providing useful information on the diet of the predators.

Description: Cephalopods may be divided into five types according to their buoyancy. Members of several families such as the Octopodidae, Loliginidae and Ommastrephidae are negatively buoyant and must swim to stay in midwater and are therefore highly muscular animals. Others have mechanisms to make them neutrally buoyant so they can remain suspended in midwater without effort. Nautilus, Spirula and cuttlefishes have low pressure gas-filled chambers and their flesh is muscular and non-buoyant (Denton & Gilpin-Brown, 1973). Squids of one family, the Gonatidae, have a low density oil in their livers to give buoyancy but most of their body is muscular. Some oceanic octopods have very watery tissues in which lighter chloride ions replace sulphate ions (Denton & Shaw, 1961). In 12 of the 26 teuthoid families the buoyancy is provided by low-density ammonia-rich solution in their body and head tissues or in an expanded coelomic cavity (Clarke, Denton & Gilpin-Brown, 1979). These ammoniacal squids are extremely abundant in the oceans of the world and form a large part of the diet of birds, cetaceans, seals and fish (Clarke, 1977). When their biomass is estimated from their utilization by predators it is important to know their properties as food and, in particular, their calorific values. As pointed out by Croxall & Prince in a review of the calorific values of cephalopods (1982), all the known values are of muscular, negatively buoyant species because they are of value as food for humans but no measurements have been made on the ammoniacal or oily species which are probably as important, or even more important, in the economy of the ocean (Clarke, 1983).

Description: The diets of adult Macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus chrysolophus and Southern rockhopper penguins E. chrysocome chrysocome were analysed quantitatively at Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean, throughout two successive chick-rearing seasons. The diets were broadly similar. Crustaceans were the predominant prey type comprising, overall, 90% by mass and 98% by numbers in Macaroni penguins and 96% by mass and 99% by numbers in rockhopper penguins. Nauticaris marionis was the predominant crustacean eaten by both penguin species in 1983–84, but Euphausia vallentini and Thysanoessa vicina predominated in 1984–85. Themisto gaudichaudii was present in appreciable numbers only in Macaroni penguins. Fish was not found in measurable quantities in either species in 1983–84, but contributed 5% and 4% of the mass of the diet in Macaroni and rockhopper penguins, respectively, when calculated in terms of the original biomass of food ingested. In 1984–85, however, fish comprised 10% and 6% of observed mass and c. 25% and 14% of original biomass ingested in Macaroni and rockhopper penguins, respectively. Pelagic myctophids, predominantly Krefftichthys anderssoni, Protomyctophum tenisoni and P. normani between 0·01 and 8·3 g, were the most commonly identified fish prey, but Macaroni penguins took an appreciable number of Electrona carlsbergi in 1983–84. Cephalopods made up between 1 % and 3% of the diet by mass in both penguin species and between 5% and 13% of original biomass ingested. Predominant cephalopods eaten were Kondakovia longimana and an unidentified octopus species. The relative proportions of each prey type change throughout chick-rearing, with pelagic fish and cephalopods comprising a larger proportion later in the season when the penguins were assumed to be foraging farther from their breeding sites. Dietary segregation of the two species appears to be related to the difference in the timing of the breeding season, which begins three to four weeks earlier in Macaroni penguins.

Description: Feeding strategies are different when adult Illex illecebrosus prey on large (trout) and small fish (mummichogs). Attacks on trout are characterized by (1) rotation as the squid changes from tail‐first to head‐first swimming; (2) an approach phase involving rapid acceleration towards the prey; (3) a tracking phase where the squid slowly follows the trout; (4) the capture phase. No tracking phase is present in attacks on mummichogs. These differences in feeding strategies can be explained by performance limitations of the squid jet propulsion system. Head‐first acceleration rates in Illex are low (max. = 12 m • s−2) and maneuverability poor compared to fish. A large fish could thus out‐perform an attacking squid if forced into evasive action. The tracking phase is a type of oceanic stalking strategy designed to bring the squid into close proximity to larger fish. The behaviour is not necessary when attacking small fish due to their low swimming speeds.

Description: Oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion rates were investigated in young Octopus maya (hatching to 139 days old; 0.11–81.23 g wet body weight, BW; 22.5–23.9°C), young squids of Loligo forbesi (hatching to 45 days old; 9.4–115.3 mg BW; 12.3–13.1°C) and young squids of Lolliguncula brevis (2.00–39.98 g BW; 23.8–24.7°C). Except at hatching, oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion rates on an individual basis (M) of these three cephalopods increased linearly with increasing body weight (BW) expressed as M = aBWb . Values of b for oxygen consumption were 0.900, 0.910 and 0.848 and for ammonia excretion were 0.744, 0.809 and 0.751 for O. maya, L. forbesi and L. brevis, respectively. Among the three species the value a varied widely, while b was similar for both oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion rates. Based upon these data, metabolism for hatchlings of O. maya and L. forbesi was estimated to be relatively lower than that of older juveniles. The O/N ratios for hatchlings of O. maya and L. forbesi were relatively high and indicate an apparent dependence upon lipids in the immediate post‐hatching period, followed by standard protein energy utilization thereafter.

Description: A population dynamics analysis for planktonic diatoms is presented that allows estimates of the net rate of increase (k), the death rate (δ), the sedimentation rate (σ) and, in absence of grazing, the growth rate (μ). It requires counts of live and dead cells suspended in the euphotic part of the water column and accumulated in sedimentation traps. The application of the model is demonstrated for the three dominant summe diatom species in Lake Constance. Asterionella formosa Hass, Fragilaria crotonensis Kitton and Stephanodiscus binderanus Krieger. Only during the first two weeks of the summer bloom of diatoms the loss rates were unimportant in comparison to the growth rates. Thereafter diatom population dynamics was strongly influenced by sedimentation and mortality, which sometimes led to a decrease in population density even when cell division continued at high rates. There were two periods of extraordinarily high death rates, which were associated in the case of A. formosa with silicon depletion and in the case of F crotensis with fungal parasitism.

Description: Long-term investigations of pore-water ammonium concentrations and sediment oxygen uptake were carried out in three different sediment types along a slope in Kiel Bight. The inverse relation between mineralization rates and ammonium concentrations at the three stations is explained by the differences in the role of various mechanisms transporting nutrients out of the sediments. Direct water exchange due to turbulent or density driven processes, bioturbation and pumping activity of benthic macrofauna and molecular diffusion are involved to various extents in nutrient fluxes out of the sediments studied. The role of different sediment types in the interaction with the pelagic system is discussed in a conceptual framework of pelagic system functioning in Kiel Bight.

Description: The annual cycle of sedimentation in Kiel Bight is described from data collected over 3 years with multisample sediment traps. Settling matter was collected from 2 depths (15 and 18 m) in a 20 m water column at 2-4 day intervals. The pattern of sedimentation was alike each year, although considerable differences in the quantity collected were present. Resuspended sediment and primary settling matter originating from the pelagic system (phytoplankton cells, detritus) were the main contributors to the particulate material collected by the traps. High sedimentation rates from November to March were due to resuspended sediment. The composition of this material differed from that of bulk surface sediment due to the selective effect of water movement during resuspension. Peaks in sedimentation of primary material were observed in spring and autumn when the pelagic food web is poorly developed. From May to August sedimentation rates were low although this is the period of high primary production with large standing stocks of plankton. Apparently, organic substance produced here is consumed within the pelagic food web, as herbivore and carnivore populations are well developed and turnover time of particles is short. Sedimentation rates of primary material are estimated to be in the range of 50-65 g C · m-2 · yr-', but in reality year to year differences are probably greater than indicated by this range.

Description: Broadband receiver functions developed from teleseismic P waveforms recorded on the midperiod passband of Regional Seismic Test Network station RSCP are inverted for vertical velocity structure beneath the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee. The detailed broadband receiver functions are obtained by stacking source‐equalized horizontal components of teleseismic P waveforms. The resulting receiver functions are most sensitive to the shear velocity structure near the station. A time domain inversion routine utilizes the radial receiver function to determine this structure assuming a crustal model parameterized by many thin, flat‐lying, homogeneous layers. Lateral changes in structure are identified by examining azimuthal variations in the vertical structure. The results reveal significant rapid lateral changes in the midcrustal structure beneath the station that are interpreted in relation to the origin of the East Continent Gravity High located northeast of RSCP. The results from events arriving from the northeast show a high‐velocity midcrustal layer not present in results from the southeast azimuth. This velocity structure can be shown to support the idea that this feature is part of a Keweenawan rift system. Another interesting feature of the derived velocity models is the indication that the crust‐mantle boundary beneath the Cumberland Plateau is a thick, probably laminated transition zone between the depths of 40 and 55 km, a result consistent with interpretations of early refraction work in the area.

Description: Cephalopod statoliths are paired calcareous stones which lie in cavities, the statocysts, within the skull. They have a form which, though variable, shows promise as a source of criteria for taxonomic and evolutionary studies. As a preliminary to more detailed studies, Clarke (1978) published a description of the form of a generalized teuthoid statolith, coined nomenclature for the various parts and gave a very brief survey of variation of statoliths within the living Cephalopoda. This nomenclature was used in a detailed description of fossilized teuthoid statoliths by Clarke & Fitch (1979). Here, descriptions of the statoliths of the living species Berryteuthis magister (Berry, 1913), Gonatopsis borealis Sasaki, 1923, Gonatopsis (Boreoteuthis) makko Okutani & Nemoto, 1964 and Gonatus fabricii (Lichtenstein, 1818) are given and the fossil Berryteuthis species described in outline by Clarke & Fitch (1979) is compared with B. magister. A statistical analysis of measurements of the statoliths of these five species has been made and the results are presented. This forms the first part of a general description of teuthoid statoliths and similar studies on the Ommastrephidae and the Loliginidae are in preparation.

Description: First culture results are presented from four major experiments (lasting up to 478 days) on the commercially important squid species, Loligo forbesi Steenstrup, Details are provided on eggs, hatching, feeding, growth, survival, behaviour and sexual maturation. Best survival during the critical first 75 days was 15%. The hatchlings (up to 4.9mm mantle length, ML) are the largest among the genus Loligo, and the largest squid grown was a male 155mm ML and 124g. First schooling was observed only 40–50 days post-hatching. Spawning was not achieved although males reached maturity, females had maturing ova and mating was observed. The largest giant axon measured was 425μm in diameter (from a female 130mm ML), a size suitable for most biomedical applications. Laboratory data suggest a 2-year life cycle compared to fishery data which suggest a 1-year cycle.

Description: The publications of Matsuoka (1983) and Bujak (1984) on dinoflagellate cysts from the Neogene of Japan and the Paleogene‐Neogene of the Bering Sea‐northern North Pacific areas, respectively, resulted in the erection of two new species by each author which are synonymous. Impagidinium pacificum Bujak and Spiniferites ovatus Bujak are therefore designated junior synonyms of Impagidinium japonicum Matsuoka and Spiniferites hexatypicus Matsuoka. Another species, Spiniferites ovatus Matsuoka, does not occur in the material examined by Bujak. Specimens assigned by Matsuoka to Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthea and Tectatodinium pellitum are reassigned to Nematosphaeropsis lemniscata Bujak and Filisphaera filifera Bujak, respectively. The species Reticulatosphaera stellata Matsuoka, which Matsuoka designated the type species of his new genus Reticulatosphaera, is designated a subjective junior synonym of a species originally named by Benedek (1972) as Cleistosphaeridium actinocoronatum. C. actinocoronatum is transferred to Reticulatosphaera and becomes the type‐species of this genus. Specimens assigned to Areoligera senonensis Lejeune‐Carpentier sensu Gocht 1969 by Matsuoka (1974, 1983) and Tanyosphaeridium fusiform by Matsuoka (1974) are reattributed to Systematophora ancyrea and Distatodinium fusiforme (Matsuoka) comb, nov., respectively. Bujak also erected eight Eocene to Pleistocene concurrent‐range zones, two of which were named the I. pacificum and Spiniferites ovatus Zones. These are renamed the I. japonicum and 5. hexatypicus Zones, and the zonation is modified to extend the Trinovantedinium boreale Zone into the early Oligocene, and to restrict the S. hexatypicus Zone to the Miocene.

Description: Morphological characteristics of two large females of Haliphron atlanticus STEENSTRUP (= Alloposus mollis VERRILL) are described and illustrated. The soft and gelatinous body, the shape of the mantle aperture, the formation of the funnel and adhesive apparatus, and the straplike septa connecting the mantle and funnel and containing the stellate ganglion are characteristic features of the species. One specimen, weighing 41 kg after fixation, was found dead near Bergen (60°14′ N, 5°16′ E) in May 1983. The other, weighing 25 kg after being frozen, was caught alive at 210 m off Vestvägöy in the Lofoten archipelago (68°20′ N. 14°14′ E) in November 1984. It was possibly feeding on the prawn, Pandalus borealis KRøYER. Both specimens had arms partly missing and web torn, but were otherwise well preserved. Previous records of H. atlanticus are confined to tropical and warm-temperate areas. The present findings represent the first records from north of 42° N.

Description: The first recorded specimens of Scaeurgus unicirrhus from the South-East Atlantic are described. Five males and two females were captured on the Valdivia Bank, Walvis Ridge, between 24 and 27°S, 400 miles off the Namibian coast. They are compared with specimens caught from other areas, and historical and geographic surveys of the species are made.

Description: We have determined the centroid depths and source mechanisms of 12 large earthquakes on transform faults of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge from an inversion of long-period body waveforms. The earthquakes occurred on the Gibbs, Oceanographer, Hayes, Kane, 15°20′, and Vema transforms. We have also estimated the depth extent of faulting during each earthquake from the centroid depth and the fault width. For five of the transforms, earthquake centroid depths lie in the range 7–10 km beneath the seafloor, and the maximum depth of seismic faulting is 14–20 km. On the basis of a comparison with a simple thermal model for transform faults, this maximum depth of seismic behavior corresponds to a nominal temperature of 900° ± 100°C. In contrast, the nominal temperature limiting the maximum depth of faulting during oceanic intraplate earthquakes with strike-slip mechanisms is 700° ± 100°C. The difference in these limiting temperatures may be attributed to the different strain rates characterizing intraplate and transform fault environments. Three large earthquakes on the 15°20′ transform have shallower centroid depths of 4–5 km and a maximum depth of seismic faulting of 10 km, corresponding to a limiting temperature of 600°C. The shallower extent of seismic behavior along the 15°20′ transform may be related to a recent episode of extension across the transform associated with the northward migration of the triple junction among North American, South American, and African plates to its present position near the transform. The source mechanisms for all events in this study display the strike-slip motion expected for transform fault earthquakes; slip vector azimuths agree to within 2°–3° of the local strike of the zone of active faulting. The only anomalies in mechanism were for two earthquakes near the western end of the Vema transform which occurred on significantly nonvertical fault planes. Secondary faulting, occurring either precursory to or near the end of the main episode of strike-slip rupture, was observed for five of the 12 earthquakes. For three events the secondary faulting was characterized by reverse motion on fault planes striking oblique to the trend of the transform. In all three cases the site of secondary reverse faulting is near a compressional jog in the current trace of the active transform fault zone. We find no evidence to support the conclusions of Engeln, Wiens, and Stein that oceanic transform faults in general are either hotter than expected from simple thermal models or weaker than normal oceanic lithosphere.

Description: Maturing females of the octopod Japetella diaphana (Hoyle) develop a luminous oral ring. Studies of specimens of different size show that this structure develops from a muscular ring which undergoes great cellular proliferation, associated with gradual degeneration of the original muscle. The light‐producing cells (photocytes) have a relatively uniform cytoplasm whose most characteristic components are small mitochondria, granular aggregates and microtubular or microfibrillar bundles. It is concluded that the original muscle tissue is not transformed directly into luminous tissue. Possible uses of the luminescence are discussed, based on the postures adopted by live specimens in shipboard aquaria.

Description: This check-list is a compilation of the marine molluscs recorded from Norway and the abyssal depths of the Norwegian Sea. Molluscs not recorded from the Norwegian fauna but found on the North Sea plateau, the British North Sea coast, the Swedish west coast, and in Danish waters are also included. Distributional data are provided for each species. Most commonly used synonyms are listed, together with type species for each accepted generic name. Systematical code numbers are included for easy retrieval of information. An alphabetical index of all generic names mentioned concludes the check-list. Recent taxonomic alterations and all distributional records are documented by literature references.

Description: Cephalopod beaks recovered from stomach samples taken from l 4 sea bird species in the southern Benguela region off Southern Africa and from one species at Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, were identified as far as possible, counted and the lower rostral lengths (LRLs) measured. Dorsal mantle lengths (DMLs) and body masses of the cephalopods eaten were estimated. The results of analyses by percentage frequency of occurrence and numerical abundance are discussed with reference to present knowledge of the distribution of cephalopods eaten by sea birds in the areas studied. Division of the cephalopod component of seabird diets into species which float, and species which sink, after death indicates that the birds forage on dead or moribund cephalopods on the surface, rather than catching live bioluminescent cephalopods at night.

Description: Interrelationships between the morphological and physiological properties of selected cyanobacterial species distinguished in the laboratory are used to simulate their population dynamics against realistic scales of environmental variability. Differences in performances are shown to correlate well with the ambient conditions found in the various types of lakes in which cyanobacteria are typically distributed.

Description: Surveys of the interdial macrofauna and sediment characters of Nigg Bay, Moray Firth, were carried out between 1981 and 1985. Permanent stations were located at the intersections of a half-kilometre grid covering the entire interdial area and sampled for infauna using replicate cores. Estimates were also made of mussel and lugworm densities from quadrats and cast counts respectively. The biomass of selected species that constitute important resources for higher tropic levels were also estimated. The sediment for each station was analysed for median particle diameter and slit content. The infaunal data were analysed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis. This indicated that tida height was the most important factor governing the distribution and abundance of the interdial communities. Sediment characters were only poorly related to distribution patterns. The bay has a rich fauna and is biologically similar to other outer bays of the Moray Firth, which, like Nigg, are important areas for wildfowl and waders. Comparison of survey data from different years indicate that there are natural cycles in some sediment and biological characters of Nigg Bay.

Description: High-resolution seismic reflection and Sea Beam bathymetric data provide insights into the processes of sediment offscraping and accretion in the Middle America Trench off southern Mexico. Thick terrigenous sediments that are transported down Ometepec Canyon and accumulate along the trench floor are scraped off the oceanic plate and accreted in thrust packets to the lower trench slope. The packets offscraped represent most of the trench strata. Underlying hemipelagic deposits that accumulate on the seafloor seaward of the trench are subducted landward of the toe of the slope. Horizontal displacement on the thrust is less than 1 km. Leading edge folds are the surface expressions of the thrusts and strike subparallel to the base of the trench slope. The folds are continuous for as much as 10 km and have amplitudes as high as 200 m and wavelengths of 0.5 to 2 km. Folds are best developed along sections of the trench with interbedded silty turbidite and mud deposits. Fold are absent where thick coarse-grained fan deposits occur. Thickening of the thrust packets occurs by large-scale thrust duplication, by layer-parallel shortening, and by deposition of material that slumps off the leading edge of older upslope thrust blocks.

Description: Three arrays of ocean bottom seismographs have been deployed to study the seismicity at the northern end of the Juan de Fuca ridge system off western Canada. Nearly 100 events were located with estimated accuracies generally better than ±10 km, all lying on or near the en echalon ridge-transform fault plate boundaries as defined in this area by the magnetic anomalies, the seafloor morphology and by other geophysical data. The depths of 12 events were determined to lie between 2 and 6 km below the top of the crust. The seismograms exhibit clear P and S wave arrivals along with phases that involve P to S and sometimes S to P conversion probably at the base of the sediments beneath the instruments. The event magnitudes have been estimated from signal duration using four calibration events that were well recorded by a land station. The magnitude estimates permit the determination of rough magnitude-frequency of occurrence relations over the magnitude range of 1 to 3 that are in surprisingly good agreement with the recurrence relations for the area at larger magnitudes from 75 years of land station data. The mean P wave velocity in the uppermost mantle from the earthquake data recorded by the sea floor arrays is 7.6 km s-1 and the mean Vp/Vs ratio is 1.71 or a Poisson's ratio of 0.24.

Description: The dissolution rates of spheres of two magnesian olivines, two plagioclases, and quartz in tholeiitic basalt have been determined at three super-liquidus temperatures and one-atmosphere pressure. There are considerable differences in the rates among the minerals, e.g. at 1210°, 12° above the liquidus temperature of the basalt, labradorite dissolves at 86 µm/h. and the magnesian olivines at 9 and 14 µm/h. The rates are not time dependent and this, coupled with the existence of concentration gradients in the composition of quenched melt adjacent to partially dissolved crystals, indicates that the dissolution rates are dictated by a combination of diffusion and convection of components to and from the crystal-liquid interface. Values for the activation enthalpy of dissolution are small for quartz and plagioclase (40–50 kcal mol−1) but large for olivine 73–118 kcal mol−1). Dissolution of plagioclase in rock melts seems to be a much more rapid process than crystal growth, whereas olivines apparently dissolve and grow at similar rates. Crystal dissolution is sufficiently slow that ascending, crystal-bearing magma may become superheated and yet fail to dissolve the crystal fraction before quenching; this may be the reason that olivine phenocrysts are often rounded.