Influence of lunar phases,winds and seasonality on the stranding of mesopelagic fish in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The shore stranding of mesopelagic fauna is a recurrent phenomenon in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea). The aim of this paper is to test the influence of lunar phases, winds and seasons upon the frequency of occurrence of strandings of mesopelagic fish. Species abundance in relation to these factors was quantified for the first time. Specimens were collected stranded on the shore along the Sicilian coast of the Strait of Messina between 2008 and 2016. Overall 32 species belonging to seven families (Gonostomatidae, Microstomatidae, Myctophidae, Paralepididae, Phosichthyidae, Sternoptychidae, Stomiidae) were found stranded. Myctophidae was the family including the highest number of species (16), whereas Gonostomatidae was the most abundant in terms of total number of individuals (47.2%), mainly thanks to the species Cyclothone braueri. The moon, which influences the strength of currents (highest during full and new moon phases) and irradiance (higher in some lunar phases, such as the full moon), affected the abundance of stranded mesopelagic fish in the study area. The highest number of stranding events was recorded during the new moon: 34.6% of the total relative abundance of stranded mesopelagic fish. Wind blowing from the sea towards the coastline (southeasterly and easterly winds) created the best conditions for strandings. The highest abundance of stranded specimens was recorded during the winter season.     

Metallothionein-like proteins induced by cadmium stress in the scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis

Organisms have evolved a cellular response called stress protein response that increases their tolerance in adverse environmental conditions. Well known stress proteins that bind essential and toxic metals are metallothionein (MT). The scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis is the most interesting organism because it is able to accumulate toxic cadmium in its digestive gland. However, in the tissue of the digestive gland of Mizuhopecten yessoensis MT (metallothioneins) have not been found. Eastern scallops, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, were collected from two locations ?? one clean and one polluted site. The concentrations of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were measured in the digestive gland. There was a significant increase in Cd concentrations in this studied tissue. We found that in the presence of cadmium Mizuhopecten yessoensis can induce high molecular proteins. The results of experiments have shown that Cd-binding ligands have a number of properties similar to MT: acetone and temperature stability; the ability to bind some metals, including Cd, Cu and Zn. Protein chromatography (FPLC, Superosa 12) from the digestive gland of scallop M. yessoensis has shown that cadmium is associated with high molecular weight Cd-binding proteins (72 kDa and 43 kDa). The major cadmium-binding protein 72 kDa is glycoprotein. In experiments we have demonstrated that Cd-binding proteins can be induced when there is cadmium exposure. The results of this study strongly suggest that the far eastern scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis has a unique and well-developed system for the detoxification of heavy metals and it allows for biochemical systems to be maintained in a relatively stable manner in the presence of heavy metals.     

Genotoxic potential of copper oxide nanoparticles in the bivalve mollusk <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus trossulus</Emphasis>

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) are among the most widely used metal oxide nanoparticles, which increases the chance of their being released into the marine environment. As the applications of these particles have increased in recent years, their potential impact on the health of marine biota has also increased. However, the toxicological effects of these NPs in the marine environment are poorly known. In the present study, the DNA damaging potential of CuO-NPs in the marine eastern mussel Mytilus trossulus was evaluated and compared to that of dissolved copper exposures. Genotoxicity was assessed by the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay in mussel gill and digestive gland cells. The results showed that copper in both forms (CuO-NPs and dissolved copper) was accumulated to different extents in mussel tissues. The mussel exposed to the dissolved copper attained higher concentrations of copper in the gills than in the digestive gland. In contrast to these results, it was found that CuO-NPs could induce much higher copper accumulation in the digestive gland than in the gills. A clear and statistically significant increase in DNA damage was found in both tissues of the Cu-exposed group compared to the control mussels. Our results indicated that the CuO-NP exposure produced remarkable effects and increased DNA damage significantly in mussel gill cells only. It should be noted that the digestive gland cells were prone to accumulation following CuO-NPs when compared to the gill cells, while the gill cells were more sensitive to the genotoxic effects of CuO-NPs. These results also suggested the need for a complete risk assessment of engineered particles before its arrival in the consumer market.     

Modelling climate and land-use change impacts with SWIM: lessons learnt from multiple applications

Abstract

The Soil and Water Integrated Model (SWIM) is a continuous-time semi-distributed ecohydrological model, integrating hydrological processes, vegetation, nutrients and erosion. It was developed for impact assessment at the river basin scale. SWIM is coupled to GIS and has modest data requirements. During the last decade SWIM was extensively tested in mesoscale and large catchments for hydrological processes (discharge, groundwater), nutrients, extreme events (floods and low flows), crop yield and erosion. Several modules were developed further (wetlands and snow dynamics) or introduced (glaciers, reservoirs). After validation, SWIM can be applied for impact assessment. Four exemplary studies are presented here, and several questions important to the impact modelling community are discussed. For which processes and areas can the model be used? Where are the limits in model application? How to apply the model in data-poor situations or in ungauged basins? How to use the model in basins subject to strong anthropogenic pressure?

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor C. Perrin     

A simple model accounting for the uptake,transport, and deposition of wind‐eroded mineral particles in the hyperarid coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile

As previously observed in marine sediments collected downwind of African or South American continental sources, recent studies of sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay in north Chile (23°S) show a laminated structure in which the amount of particles of aeolian origin and their size create significant differences between the layers. This suggests inter‐annual to inter‐decadal variations in the strength of the local southerly winds responsible for (1) the erosion of the adjacent hyperarid surface of the Mejillones Pampa, and (2) the subsequent transport of the eroded particles towards the bay. A simple model accounting for the vertical uptake, transport, and deposition of the particles initially set into motion by wind at the surface of the pampa is proposed. This model, which could be adapted to other locations, assumes that the initial rate of (vertical) uptake is proportional to the (horizontal) saltation flux quantified by means of White's equation, that particles are lifted to a height (H), increasing with the magnitude of turbulence, and that sedimentation progressively removes the coarsest particles from the air column as it moves towards the bay. In this model, the proportionality constant (A) linking the vertical flux of particles with the horizontal flux, and the injection height (H) control the magnitude and size distribution of the deposition flux in the bay. Their values are determined using the wind speed measured over the pampa and the size distribution of particles collected in sediment traps deployed in the bay as constraints. After calibration, the model is used to assess the sensitivity of the deposition flux to the wind intensity variations. The possibility of performing such quantitative studies is necessary for interpreting precisely the variability of the aeolian material in the sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetosheath Structure in an Anisotropic Plasma Model

Variations of the magnetic field and plasma parameters across the Earth's magnetosheath are calculated for an anisotropic plasma in the Chew-Goldberger-Low approximation. Additionally, proton pitch-angle diffusion is taken into account as the energy transfer mechanism between the direction perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic field. We discuss the main characteristics of the magnetic barrier for different temperature relaxation times and their dependence on the interplanetary magnetic field orientation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Biogeographical drivers of ragweed pollen concentrations in Europe

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the...     

Late Pleistocene-Holocene paleolimnology of three north-western Russian lakes

The vegetation history and development of three different types of lakes, lakes Valday, Kubenskoye and Vishnevskoye (northwest of the East European Plain) were reconstructed using paleolimnological techniques. Watershed vegetation demonstrates a close connection with climate fluctuations: gradual expansion of the southern broad-leaved trees to the North during the Holocene with the maximum extent during the climate optimum (8000–5000 BP); and their subsequent retreat afterwards; followed by the extension of spruce during the cold and dry Subboreal time; and dominance of pine-spruce-birch forests in the Subatlantic time. The Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes resulted in lake-level fluctuations and other ecosystem changes. Valday Lake was formed ca. 12,500 BP as an oligotrophic, deep water basin. The lake level decreased during the dry Boreal, then increased again during the humid Atlantic period. The large shallow Kubenskoye Lake was formerly a part of an ice margin lake, which was then separated (ca. 13,000 BP) and developed into the Sukhona Basin with an outflow to the northwest. During the Atlantic, the outflow direction changed to the east. As a result, the ancient Sukhona Lake disappeared and Kubenskoye Lake formed in its modern size and shape. Vishnevskoye Lake, on the Karelian Isthmus, was formed at the beginning of the Preboreal after the disappearance of the Baltic Ice Lake. It was flooded by waters of the Boreal Ancylus transgression of the Baltic Basin and had become a small eutrophic lake by the time.