New and little‐known arietellidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) mainly from the south‐west pacific

Three species of Arietellidae are described from the south‐west Pacific: a new species of Paraugaptilus, a species which can not be separated from P. buchani, and Arietellus aculeatus. The identity of A. aculeatus is clarified by comparison of type material and material from the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, and an unidentified Atlantic species of Arietellus, evident from the comparison, is described.     

Albacore off the north‐west coast of New Zealand,February 1972

During two trolling surveys in February 1972, albacore, Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre), were located between Cape Reinga and Cape Egmont, but were more abundant between Kaipara Harbour and Albatross Point. Fish catches and associated hydrological data are presented. Albacore were caught only in areas where the sea surface temperatures were between 18.5°c and 21.3°c, and usually in areas where the water was blue and the bottom depth between 45 m and 80 m. The albacore were mainly of the 2‐ and 3‐year age‐groups. Of the 665 fish landed, 449 were tagged and released, but no recoveries have been made.

Commercial vessels located albacore within 20 km of New Plymouth during the summers of 1970 and 1971 when sea surface temperatures were 1.5–2.5°c higher than in February 1972, probably because of a more southward extension of the West Auckland Current in 1970 and 1971.     

Deep scattering layers resolved by narrow‐beam echo sounder along 35°s in the south pacific

The narrow‐beam echo sounder (3.5° half angle, 20 kHz) is capable of resolving the configuration of deep scattering layers to 750 m and was used to study the ecology and population density of organisms that make up the layers. Several layers to 1,000 m depth were identified in the South Pacific Ocean, and the population densities calculated. Swimming speeds of possible predators are estimated at 0.2–0.3 m.sec‐¹. Among organisms calculated to range in length from 0.01 m to 0.07 m, the larger were interpreted as grazing on smaller organisms, after comparing results from two echo sounders of 12 kHz and 20 kHz frequencies respectively.     

The state‐of‐the‐art in marine navigation

Tide gauges distributed all over the world provide valuable information for monitoring mean sea level changes. The statistical models used in estimating sea level change from the tide gauge data assume implicitly that the random model components are stationary in variance. We show that for a large number of global tide gauge data this is not the case for the seasonal part using a variate-differencing algorithm. This finding is important for assessing the reliability of the present estimates of mean sea level changes because nonstationarity of the data may have marked impact on the sea level rate estimates, especially, for the data from short records.     

Comparative mineralogy and geochemistry of hydrothermal iron‐rich crusts from the Pitcairn,Teahitia‐mehetia,and Macdonald hot spot areas of the S. W. pacific

Abstract

Hydrothermal iron‐rich crusts have been recovered from a number of hot spot volcanos including Crough Seamount, Pitcairn Volcanos 2 and 1, Cyana Seamount, Teahitia, Moua Pihaa, and Macdonald Seamount in the S. W. Pacific. Mineralogically, the crusts consists of ferrihydrite with traces of the weathering products of volcanic ash (feldspar, nontronite, pyroxene, and serpentinite). The iron oxyhydroxide phase has a mean particle size of 3–4 nm indicating rapid deposition. Electron microprobe studies have revealed the presence of filamentous iron‐silica deposits within the crusts reflecting the possible bacterial oxidation of iron from the hydrothermal fluids. The crusts display wide variability in composition both between individual sampling stations and between seamounts. Endmember analysis shows that the compositional data can be resolved into three endmembers: a Fe‐rich endmember, a light and heavy rare earth element endmember, and a Ba (barite)‐rich endmember. The Fe‐rich endmember appears to contain very low concentrations of most trace elements. For bulk samples, the composition of the iron‐rich crusts reflects dilution of the iron oxyhydroxide phase by volcanic ash and, to a lesser extent, a hydrogenous component. This is illustrated by the wide variability in SiO₂ (11.1–71.3%) and Mn (0.01–1.21%) contents of the crusts. For iron‐rich crusts containing greater than 40% Fe, the Pitcairn crusts display lower contents of Pb, Ba, Mo, U, Th, As, and rare earth elements (REE) and lower cerium anomalies than those from Teahitia. REE profiles of crusts from each of the hot spot volcanoes are characterized by small negative cerium anomalies but pronounced positive europium anomalies. The low average La/Fe ratios of the crusts from the various seamounts (47–572 X 10^‐6) and positive Eu anomalies of the crusts suggest rapid deposition of the iron oxyhydroxide near the hydrothermal vent. The high Fe/Mn ratio of vent fluids at hot spot volcanoes (8.5–5.6) may account for the formation of these iron‐rich crusts. The present data indicate that there may be differences in the nature of the iron‐rich crusts based on the depth of occurrence. This influences the temperature of the venting hydrothermal fluids and the possibility of occurrence of submarine phreatomagmatic eruptions.     

Notes on the presence of the brown mudfish (Neochanna apoda günther) on the west coast of the south Island of New Zealand

Two visits to the West Coast revealed that Neochanna apoda Giinther is present in six clearly defined types of habitat examined between Oparara and Whataroa.

The location of habitats varied from heavily forested country to open pakihi bog, between sea level and 200 m. A Neochanna apoda habitat was generally uninhabited by any other species of fish; occasionally short‐finned eels (Anguilla australis) and, once, banded kokopu (Galaxias fasciatus) were present. An association with freshwater crayfish (Paranephrops planifrons) was often noted.

Neochanna apoda was found in all stages of development from fry to adults over 150 mm in length, and all size ranges were present in some places.     

Further evidence for the existence of sub‐littoral populations of toheroa,Amphidesma ventricosum Gray (eulamelli‐branchiata), off the west coast of New Zealand

The finding of shells of toheroa (Amphidesma ventricosum Gray) which had been drilled by gastropods absent from the littoral zone, is presented as evidence for the existence of sub‐littoral populations of toheroa.     

The distribution of planktonic Ostracoda between the source of Kuroshio and west of Taiwan Strait

Little was studied on oceanography and ecology on the eastern sea waters off the Philippines,Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel in the past.In this paper are presented the results of an ecological study on Ostracoda in the above-stated sea waters in which the samples of Ostracoda were collected in the North Pacific nets from 90 stations by Surveyer I(May-July,1968) in accordance with CSK Program.The study took into consideration the in situ temperature-salinity data.In addition,a comparative dissection has been carried out on the samples of Ostracoda obtained in the normal nettings trawled from bottom to surface during an annual survey(see May,1984-May,1985)in the west from the central line of the Taiwan Strait(see Fig.1) by the Third Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration.The interaction of different current systems,especially the Kuroshio on Ostracoda,is described from the distribution of different ecological attributions.     

The structure of the Falkland Basin’s lithosphere

The peculiarities of the crustal structure within the Falkland Basin have been discussed. Maps of the free-air and Bouguer (2.3 g/cm³) gravity anomalies and their transforms have been made. The complex analysis of the anomalous gravity field has allowed us to confirm the continental origin of the crust. The zoning of the crust has been performed. The crust is thinned and is enriched in basic and ultrabasic intrusions. A map demonstrating the distribution of the faults within the studied water area has been made. A conclusion has been reached about the leading role played by tension processes throughout the evolution of the crust within the studied water area.     

Predatory fish and their prey — an overview of trophic interactions in the fish communities of the west and south coasts of South Africa

Fish communities over continental shelves are of three types: pelagic, rocky reef and soft substrata. The pelagic community of the South African west coast is dominated by clupeiform fish, which are the principal prey of snoek, the dominant piscivorous teleost in the area, and other fish, including tuna and pelagic sharks. Keystone prey species are broadly similar on the South African south and west coasts, but predator composition differs. Studies of rocky reef fish suggest that the fauna of the South Coast is more diverse than that of the West, the West Coast having fewer species and only two reef fish species being taken in linefisheries. Feeding interactions of some of the dominant species have been established, but the status of commercially less important fish such as elasmobranchs and small species is poorly known. The community and feeding interactions of fish living over soft substrata are better known and part of this fauna is taken by demersal trawlers. The two species of Cape hake dominate the communities on both coasts, but the fauna is more diverse on the Cape south coast. Generally, much of the present ichthyological knowledge is derived from the ecologically narrow perspective of commercial fisheries. Nevertheless, the patterns of diversity appear to conform to previous work, which has indicated a lower species diversity in the Atlantic than in the Indian Ocean. Knowledge of commercially unimportant fish is fragmentary, and understanding of the ecological interactions on the South Coast generally lags that of the West.     

The three-layer model of the thermohaline structure in the shallow seas

——A three-layer model of the thermohaline structure is developed on the basis of the two -layer model of thermocline. The model is able to simulate the depth,thickness and intensity of both thermocline and halocline, and the temperature and salinity of both upper layer and lower layer in the shallow seas.Camparison of simulation with data is favorable.Detailed analysis is made on a variety of factors affecting the intensity of the thermocline.     

A study on benthic community structure in west of the Taiwan Strait and near the Taiwan Shoals

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The “von Karman vortex street” to the west of Big Island

Satellite-tracked drifting buoy data and altimetry data are used to study the active vortex field to the west of Big Island. A pair of vortexes were observed at the trajectory of buoy in 1995. The westward propagation of the vortex pair is studied in detail by reproducing the loops of each vortex. The orbital period and radius of the pair of vortex are determined to be 10-11 d and 58-68 km. Two arrays of contra-rotating vortices are displayed in the average sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) field to the west of Big Island. Based on the calculation of the fluid dynamical parameter, the “von Karman vortex street” is proved to be generated to the west of Big Island as the North Equatorial Current impinges upon Big Island from the east. Finally, the analysis of the buoy trajectories in a decade contributes to the conclusion of the pattern of VKVS in a statistical view.     

The physical structure of a cold filament in a Chilean upwelling zone (Penı́nsula de Mejillones,Chile, 23°S)

Cold filaments associated with Eastern Boundary Currents are typically narrower than 100 km but can be several hundred kilometers long, extending from the coast to the open ocean in upwelling areas. One such structure, observed off Penı&#x0301;nsula de Mejillones (23°S, Chile), was studied with both satellite images and two 5-days hydrographic cruises carried out during January 1997. The study used a coastal grid of 31 stations in an area of 165 ×155 km², approximately. The spatial distribution of the filament and its change between cruises are described from the horizontal distributions of dynamic height, temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen. The filament was a shallow feature (thickness <100 m) and extended at least 165 km toward the open ocean. A meandering northward current flowed at the borders of the filament, separating oceanic and coastal waters of different physical properties. Comparisons of cross sections of the filament near the coast and in the oceanic zone show the ascent of the shallow salinity minimum (SSM), and its extension toward the ocean, bound to the filament. It is concluded that Subantarctic Water ((SAAW) distinguish by low salinity, high dissolved oxygen) and Equatorial Subsurface Water ((ESSW) high salinity, low dissolved oxygen, high nutrient content) form this filament, and that their relative proportions depend on the strength of the coastal upwelling. Thus, the knowledge of the dynamics of these structures is fundamental to better understanding of the spatial distribution of important biological variables, such as nutrients and chlorophyll, in the coastal ecosystem.     

The distribution and abundance of seven commercial trawlfish from the Cape south coast of South Africa, 1986–1990

Spatial and size/age distributions of seven teleost species are described from a series of five annual trawling surveys made over the continental shelf and upper slope (20–500 m) of the South African south coast between Cape Agulhas and Port Alfred. The catch was quantified and scaled up to an estimate of an annual biomass index for each of the principal species. The fish studied were the two species of Cape hake Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus, kingklip Genypterus capensis, Agulhas sole Austroglossus pectoralis, Cape horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus capensis, monk Lophius vomerinus and panga Pterogymnus laniarius. Each showed varying patterns of biomass fluctuation annually, although the surveys constituted too short a data series to reveal significant trends. Nevertheless, declines in abundance of panga and kingklip supported data collected from other sources over a longer period. Interpretation of the data is tempered by a realization that species which are patchily distributed or less vulnerable to the sampling gear may have been inadequately sampled. The information can be used for more-effective management of the multi-species demersal trawl fishery of the region.     

The carbohydrate‐to‐protein ratio as a biological indicator of water movement

We investigated temporal (day‐to‐day and season) and spatial (reach) variability of drift with the aim of guiding sampling protocol for quantifying drift at the whole river or reach scale. Overall, we found aquatic drift density and biomass varied considerably seasonally (CV = 72.9, 88.1) and to a lesser extent spatially (CV = 31.3, 30.7) and from day‐to‐day (CV = 45.2, 39.4). Although spatial and day‐to‐day variation in drift density and biomass were similar, sampling logistics suggest spatial sampling would be more cost‐effective and less time consuming. Drift density and biomass estimated from top samplers was often higher than estimates from samplers near the streambed or mid‐water column. A reliable estimate of mean densities and biomass at a site may require only two samplers— a top sampler and either a middle or bottom sampler. In our study, we calculated that sampling at four sites over 1 or 4 days at one site would be required to obtain a 95% CI within 50% of the mean drift density. Eight sites over 1 or 10 days at one site would be required to achieve a 95% CI within 25% of the mean drift density.     

Notes The distribution of planktonic Ostracoda between the source Of Kuroshio and west of Taiwan Strait

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New and little‐known species of Heterorhabdidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) from the southwest pacific

Three new species of calanoid copepods are described: two in Heterorhabdus and one in Disseta. The males of H. pustulifer and H. caribbeanensis are described and the identities of H. proximus, H. norvegicus and H. austrinus are clarified. H. spinifer is recorded for the second time. A key to the subgenus Heterorhabdus is provided.     

The effects of the intertropical convergence zone on the easterly jet stream during Northern summer

- In this paper, a strong 1TCZ process and an 1TCZ - absent process during FGGE in 1979 were selected for comparison to explore how they were subject to the influence of the evolution of the upper easterly jets.