Long-chain alkenones and U37′ variability along a south–north transect in the Western Pacific Ocean

In this paper, we present 50 surface water samples collected during the IMAGES III cruise (June–July 1997) along a transect from New Zealand to the China Sea (42°S–178°E, 21°N–120°E) covering a temperature range from 13.3 to 30.4 °C. A very worthwhile aspect of this study is a coupling of both biomarker (alkenone) and coccolithophorid counting. We show that the U₃₇^k′–temperature relationship is very similar to the Prahl et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 52 (1988) 2203] culture calibration and to the global core top calibration of Müller et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62 (1998) 1757]. However, in the warmest surface waters of the Western Pacific ocean (>26.4 °C) where Gephyrocapsa oceanica is likely the most widespread species, the associated U₃₇^k′ has a constant value of 1.0. The consequence is that above this temperature threshold, U₃₇^k′ cannot be used as an accurate paleothermometer.     

Application of the global modal approach to the spiral galaxies

We have tested the applicability of the global modal approach in the density wave theory of spiral structure for a sample of spiral galaxies with measured axisymmetric background properties. We report here the results of the simulations for four galaxies: NGC 488, NGC 628, NGC 1566, and NGC 3938. Using the observed radial distributions for the stellar velocity dispersions and the rotation velocities we have constructed the equilibrium models for the galactic disks in each galaxy and implemented two kinds of stability analyses - the linear global analysis and 2D-nonlinear simulations. In general, the global modal approach is able to reproduce the observed properties of the spiral arms in the galactic disks. The growth of spirals in the galactic disks can be physically understood in terms of amplification by over-reflection at the corotation resonance. Our results support the global modal approach as a theoretical explanation of spiral structure in galaxies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Microsatellite Variation in the Oyster Crassostreaplicatula Along the Coast of China

Genetic diversity and differentiation of the oyster Crassostreaplicatula populations from China's coast were studied basedon seven microsatellite loci.All loci showed high polymorphism for all five C.plicatula populations,with an average number of alleleper locus of 19.3-27.9 and an average expected heterozygosity of 0.889-0.952.Significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilib-rium and deficits of heterozygotes were observed over most populations at each locus,which were fully explained by null alleles.Microsatellite analysis revealed significant subdivision in the C.plicatula populations.According to the neighbor-joining tree con-structed on the basis of the D,A distance,the five populations fell into three regional groups,showing a relatively homogeneous geneticstructure in geographically close populations.Assignation tests correctly assigned high percentages of individuals to their originalpopulations and groups,and also confirmed the existence of genetic differentiation among C.plicatula populations.The results ob-tained in this study will facilitate the formulation of appropriate fisheries management programs,stock identification and conservationof biodiversity for the species.