Characterization of the proteinaceous matter in marine aerosols

Marine aerosols play a dominant role in the transfer of oceanic material to the atmosphere. Most marine aerosol originates when air bubbles burst at the sea surface ejecting material from the sea surface microlayer and bubble surface layers into the air. Concentrations of chemical compounds in these surface layers often differ from their concentrations in bulk water. We examined the enrichment of aerosols with proteinaceous matter and attempted to characterize the physical nature and sources of this matter. We measured concentrations of dissolved free (DFAA), dissolved combined (DCAA), and particulate (PAA) amino acids, transparent stainable particles (TSP), and bacteria and virus-like particles as carriers of protein, in natural and simulated aerosols. We also evaluated D/L ratios certain amino acids in all amino acid fractions.DFAA and DCAA enriched the aerosols we sampled by 1.2–20 times compared to bulk seawater; PAA enrichment was usually higher (up to 50-fold). Aerosols contained particles typical of seawater, e.g., microorganisms, organic debris, inorganic particles with adsorbed organic matter, but also a large number of semitransparent gel-like particles, which all contained amino acids. Some of these particles were probably scavenged from bulk water, but new particles produced as bubbles burst at the surface comprised at least 10% of total proteinaceous matter in the aerosol. D/L ratios of certain amino acid suggested that the particles were most likely made from dissolved polymers secreted by phytoplankton that were concentrated on bubble surfaces and in the microlayer. Examination with Alcian Blue (a dye that targets carbohydrates) and Coomassie Blue (a dye that targets proteins) showed that most TSP in the aerosols contained both proteins and polysaccharides. Microorganisms enriched the aerosols by up to two orders of magnitude, but contributed less than 4% to the total protein pool.     

Occurrence and ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in Kenya's marine environment: first documented evidence

Microplastics can be ingested by marine organisms and may lead to negative impacts at the base of marine food chains. This study investigated the occurrence and composition of microplastics in the sea-surface water and sought evidence of ingestion by zooplankton. Surface seawater was collected using a stainless-steel bucket and sieved directly through a stainless-steel sieve (250-µm mesh), while a 500-μm mesh net was towed horizontally to collect zooplankton, at 11 georeferenced stations off the Kenyan coast in February 2017, on board the national research vessel RV Mtafiti. Microplastic particles were sorted and characterised using an Optika dissecting microscope. Polymer types were identified using an ALPHA Platinum attenuated total reflection—Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectrometer. A total of 149 microplastic particles, with an average abundance of 110 particles m^–3, were found in the surface seawater. A total of 129 particles were found ingested by zooplankton groups, where Chaetognatha, Copepoda, Amphipoda and fish larvae ingested 0.46, 0.33, 0.22 and 0.16 particles ind.^–1, respectively. Filaments dominated both the surface-water microplastics and the ingested microplastics, contributing 76% and 97% to those compositions, respectively. White particles were prevalent in the water (51%), whereas black was the colour found most commonly (42%) across the zooplankton groups. The sizes of particles that were in the water were in the range of 0.25–2.4 mm, and those ingested ranged between 0.01 and 1.6 mm. Polypropylene was predominant in the surface water, whereas low-density polyethylene was the most-ingested polymer type. The results provide the first documented evidence of the occurrence, composition and ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in Kenya's marine environment, indicating that microplastics have the potential to enter pelagic food webs and cause pollution in the study area.     

Plastic particles in coastal pelagic ecosystems of the Northeast Pacific ocean

The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution, abundance and characteristics of plastic particles in plankton samples collected routinely in Northeast Pacific ecosystems, and to contribute to the development of ideas for future research into the occurrence and impact of small plastic debris in marine pelagic ecosystems. Plastic debris particles were assessed from zooplankton samples collected as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) ongoing ecosystem surveys during two research cruises in the Southeast Bering Sea in the spring and fall of 2006 and four research cruises off the U.S. west coast (primarily off southern California) in spring, summer and fall of 2006, and in January of 2007. Nets with 0.505 mm mesh were used to collect surface samples during all cruises, and sub-surface samples during the four cruises off the west coast. The 595 plankton samples processed indicate that plastic particles are widely distributed in surface waters. The proportion of surface samples from each cruise that contained particles of plastic ranged from 8.75 to 84.0%, whereas particles were recorded in sub-surface samples from only one cruise (in 28.2% of the January 2007 samples). Spatial and temporal variability was apparent in the abundance and distribution of the plastic particles and mean standardized quantities varied among cruises with ranges of 0.004-0.19 particles/m3, and 0.014-0.209 mg dry mass/m3. Off southern California, quantities for the winter cruise were significantly higher, and for the spring cruise significantly lower than for the summer and fall surveys (surface data). Differences between surface particle concentrations and mass for the Bering Sea and California coast surveys were significant for pair-wise comparisons of the spring but not the fall cruises. The particles were assigned to three plastic product types: product fragments, fishing net and line fibers, and industrial pellets; and five size categories: <1 mm, 1-2.5 mm, >2.5-5 mm, >5-10 mm, and >10 mm. Product fragments accounted for the majority of the particles, and most were less than 2.5 mm in size. The ubiquity of such particles in the survey areas and predominance of sizes <2.5 mm implies persistence in these pelagic ecosystems as a result of continuous breakdown from larger plastic debris fragments, and widespread distribution by ocean currents. Detailed investigations of the trophic ecology of individual zooplankton species, and their encounter rates with various size ranges of plastic particles in the marine pelagic environment, are required in order to understand the potential for ingestion of such debris particles by these organisms. Ongoing plankton sampling programs by marine research institutes in large marine ecosystems are good potential sources of data for continued assessment of the abundance, distribution and potential impact of small plastic debris in productive coastal pelagic zones.     

海洋浮游微食物网生物在海洋颗粒形成和沉降中的作用

海洋中存在着大量的颗粒,包括大型聚合颗粒（即海雪,粒径>500μm）、小型聚合颗粒（1~500μm）和亚微米颗粒粒径（<1μm）等。颗粒在海水中营造了不同于纯海水的小生境,其中生活着与自然海水中不同的生物。异养细菌、蓝细菌、真核藻类、鞭毛虫、纤毛虫等微食物网生物可以黏附在海洋颗粒上,或生活在颗粒内部,其丰度高于周围水体中的自由生活生物,这可能是由于颗粒提供了更适宜生长的营养环境。本文综述了海洋浮游微食物网生物在海洋颗粒形成和沉降中的作用。微食物网生物在颗粒物的形成过程中起到很重要的作用,它们可以直接促进颗粒形成,也可以彼此结合成颗粒,或微型浮游动物排粪形成颗粒。微食物网生物还可以对颗粒进行转化,影响颗粒的大小、沉降速度、或对颗粒及其黏附生物进行摄食。微食物网生物由于本身较小,沉降较慢,但这些生物和颗粒的结合使得微食物网生物在碳通量中发挥重要的作用。     

Numerical simulation of sloshing with large deforming free surface by MPS-LES method

Moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method is a fully Lagrangian particle method which can easily solve problems with violent free surface. Although it has demonstrated its advantage in ocean engineering applications, it still has some defects to be improved. In this paper, MPS method is extended to the large eddy simulation (LES) by coupling with a sub-particle-scale (SPS) turbulence model. The SPS turbulence model turns into the Reynolds stress terms in the filtered momentum equation, and the Smagorinsky model is introduced to describe the Reynolds stress terms. Although MPS method has the advantage in the simulation of the free surface flow, a lot of non-free surface particles are treated as free surface particles in the original MPS model. In this paper, we use a new free surface tracing method and the key point is "neighbor particle". In this new method, the zone around each particle is divided into eight parts, and the particle will be treated as a free surface particle as long as there are no "neighbor particles" in any two parts of the zone. As the number density parameter judging method has a high efficiency for the free surface particles tracing, we combine it with the neighbor detected method. First, we select out the particles which may be mistreated with high probabilities by using the number density parameter judging method. And then we deal with these particles with the neighbor detected method. By doing this, the new mixed free surface tracing method can reduce the mistreatment problem efficiently. The serious pressure fluctuation is an obvious defect in MPS method, and therefore an area-time average technique is used in this paper to remove the pressure fluctuation with a quite good result. With these improvements, the modified MPS-LES method is applied to simulate liquid sloshing problems with large deforming free surface. Results show that the modified MPS-LES method can simulate the large deforming free surface easily. It can not only capture the large impact pressure accurately on rolling tank wall but also can generate all physical phenomena successfully. The good agreement between numerical and experimental results proves that the modified MPS-LES method is a good CFD methodology in free surface flow simulations.     

Single particle analysis of suspended matter in the Makasar Strait and Flores Sea with particular reference to tin-bearing particles

Suspended matter samples filtered from surface waters and two depth profiles from the Flores Sea and Makasar Strait were investigated by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) and laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA). EPXMA yielded discrete morphological and chemical analysis of the major particle types of suspended matter. Cluster analysis revealed that thirteen main particle types described the composition of suspended matter of the Flores Sea and Makasar Strait. Silicates, aluminosilicates and Fe-oxyhydroxides were the predominant particle types. Suspended matter of the basins studied contained high levels of tin-bearing particles. On the basis of their composition, tin particles can be divided into three groups: (1) tin oxide/hydroxides (cassiterite, romarchite, hydroromarchite); (2) iron-oxyhydroxides with adsorbed tin; and (3) mixed oxidation state tin hydroxysulphates. Only ultra-fine cassiterite particles enter the seawater in suspended state. Dissolved tin species entering the sea have three alternatives: (1) to be scavenged by Fe-oxyhydroxides; (2) to precipitate as tin oxide/hydroxides (romarchite, hydroromarchite); (3) to precipitate as tin hydroxysulphates. The conclusion is that dissolved and suspended tin originate from local sources in the land frame of the basins as well as from remote sources in the Indonesian Archipelago. Four different sectors of the waters studied have suspended matter with different composition: (1) the Mahakam River–Delta zone; (2) the open Flores Sea; (3) the landlocked Saleh Bay; (4) the Makasar Strait proper. The depth distribution of suspended particle types is mainly influenced by: (1) the bottom nepheloid layer and calcite lysocline in the Flores Sea; (2) the high bioproduction in the surface water layer and the vertical distribution of organic matter in the Makasar Strait.     

海洋微塑料污染现状及其对鱼类的生态毒理效应

海洋微塑料污染已成为全球性环境问题,鉴于微塑料特殊的理化性质,其对海洋生物和海洋生态系统的生态效应愈发受到关注。本文在综述海洋微塑料来源、类型和分布状况的基础上,探讨了鱼类摄入微塑料的途径及其生态毒理学效应。研究表明,全球近岸、大洋和极地海域均有微塑料分布,我国微塑料污染亦较为严重。微塑料会对包括鱼类在内的海洋生物生存造成威胁,其被鱼类摄入的主要途径是经口误食,微塑料进入鱼体后可在不同组织和器官中迁移,消化道是主要蓄积器官。微塑料对海洋鱼类的生态毒理效应主要包括:（1）影响生殖与精卵发生;（2）降低存活率;（3）影响生长发育;（4）扰乱行为;（5）导致组织病变与炎症反应;（6）导致代谢紊乱;（7）干扰神经系统;（8）导致氧化应激;（9）干扰内分泌等。未来研究应重点关注微塑料在海洋生态系统中的迁移扩散过程、不同浓度和粒径微塑料对鱼类的生态毒理效应及致毒机制研究、微塑料和其他典型海洋污染物对鱼类的联合毒性效应,以及微塑料与海洋酸化、缺氧、升温等全球环境问题的叠加效应等。     

南海潮汐主要分潮振幅变化趋势研究

潮汐变化研究对于海洋工程、沿海地区洪涝灾害预防、海上交通等各个方面都有着重要的意义.由于验潮站都集中在近海,所以之前潮汐变化研究主要集中在近海海域.相比之下,深海地区由于长期高频水位观测的缺乏导致相关的潮汐变化研究非常少.基于近海验潮站数据和深海卫星高度计数据,本文首次用非平稳潮汐调和分析工具包S_TIDE提取了南海4...     

赤道东北太平洋悬浮体物源示踪元素的研究

2005年7月在赤道东北太平洋的3个测站分层采集了悬浮体水样.利用ICP-MS对悬浮体的元素组成进行了测试,从测试的47种元素中筛选出了钡和铝分别作为悬浮体生源组分和陆源组分的示踪元素.悬浮体中钡含量为0.02~0.19μg/dm3,其中生源钡含量为0.01~0.13μg/dm3,铝含量为0.33~18.54μg/dm3.生源钡和铝元素含量及其比值在水体中的分布特征与悬浮体含量的相对应,分为三段.水体透光层生物作用和近底层底质沉积物再悬浮作用是其在水体表层和近底层显著变化的原因.近底雾状层内生源钡和铝元素含量的比值从水体向底质沉积物中降低,至底质沉积物降到最低,显示出底质沉积物再悬浮对悬浮体组分和含量的影响,可以作为近底雾状层颗粒物质运移的示踪指标.     

南海与周边海域表层塑料颗粒交换的拉格朗日示踪研究

塑料污染已成为国际海洋界关注的海洋环境问题之一。文章探讨海洋环流对南海及其周边海域表层塑料颗粒交换的影响。在南海周边多个海域, 分别在4个季节投放塑料颗粒。一年后, 用拉格朗日颗粒示踪方法考察投放颗粒的运动轨迹和最终停留位置。结果表明, 在秋、冬季, 大部分塑料颗粒会进入南海和爪哇海, 极少部分颗粒北输送到太平洋; 在春、夏季, 仅有部分颗粒进入南海和爪哇海, 而多数颗粒流到太平洋。南海洋流具有季节特征, 塑料颗粒轨迹特征与之较为符合。     

海洋沉积物/颗粒物在生源要素循环中的作用及生态学功能

海洋沉积物/颗粒物是生源要素循环过程中的关键源与汇,沉积物/颗粒物一方面是海水生源要素的主要归宿,生源要素从溶解态经复杂的生物-化学过程转变为颗粒态,颗粒物质再沉降形成沉积物,另一方面,海洋沉积物/颗粒物经过微生物-浮游动物-底栖生物作用分解形成溶解态的生源要素,并释放到海水中再次被浮游植物利用,进入下一轮循环,所以,海洋沉积物/颗粒物具有异常重要的生态学功能。浮游植物是海水溶解态生源要素的利用者和海源颗粒态生源要素的初始形成者,浮游动物通过摄食浮游植物或其他有机颗粒物可释放出溶解态生源要素或形成更大的颗粒物,颗粒物沉降后形成的沉积物又通过底栖生物摄食-扰动-破碎等过程将颗粒生源要素释放进入水体参与再循环。生态系统不同类群的生物在颗粒生源要素的释放-沉降中所起的作用不同而又相互关联,其中浮游动物-底栖生物的摄食与代谢、微生物参与的分解过程起着非常重要的作用。所以,海洋沉积物/颗粒物生态学功能研究作为支撑海洋环境和资源的持续利用的科学基础,已成为海洋科学的前沿领域,必将获得跨越发展。     

Geotechnical Engineering Issues in Ocean Waste Disposal: A Review

Marine pollution has received considerable attention during the past few years as the news media has focused on such topics as contaminated seafoods, algae blooms, fish and mammal kills, and dirty beaches. The source of these pollution problems are many and include: sewage outfalls, industrial discharges, storm runoff from agricultural lands and metropolitan areas, waste sludges, dredge materials, and highly concentrated chemical and radioactive wastes. Although the United Nations has banned marine dumping, there is still the problem of legacy wastes and low level discharges into the coastal zone. Disposal of these wastes in the marine environment typically involves either: their placement directly on or within the seabed or dilution in the water column. If wastes are diluted in the water column, they have the potential to be adsorbed onto the surface of sediment particles which are settling to the seabed. As particles settle through the water column they are subjected to extensive dispersal and may eventually be injested by bottom-feeding organisms or bio-accumulation by plankton and, thus, enter the food chain. Geotechnical engineers working as members of multidisciplinary teams apply quantitative knowledge about the behavior and physical performance of earth materials toward designing systems for disposing of these wastes in the oceans and aid in monitoring waste disposal sites. In dredged material disposal geotechnical engineers assist in selecting disposal equipment, predict stable characteristics of dredged material mounds, design mound caps, and predict erodibility of the material. With sewage outfalls, geotechnical engineers design foundation and anchor elements, estimate scour potential around the outfalls, and determine the stability of deposits made up of discharged materials. Geotechnical engineers also consider the influence that pollutants have on the engineering behavior of marine sediment and the extent to which changes in behavior affect the performance of structures founded on the sediment. In each of these roles, careful application of geotechnical engineering principles can contribute toward more efficient and environmentally safe disposal operations.     

Geotechnical Engineering Issues in Ocean Waste Disposal: A Review

Marine pollution has received considerable attention during the past few years as the news media has focused on such topics as contaminated seafoods, algae blooms, fish and mammal kills, and dirty beaches. The source of these pollution problems are many and include: sewage outfalls, industrial discharges, storm runoff from agricultural lands and metropolitan areas, waste sludges, dredge materials, and highly concentrated chemical and radioactive wastes. Although the United Nations has banned marine dumping, there is still the problem of legacy wastes and low level discharges into the coastal zone. Disposal of these wastes in the marine environment typically involves either: their placement directly on or within the seabed or dilution in the water column. If wastes are diluted in the water column, they have the potential to be adsorbed onto the surface of sediment particles which are settling to the seabed. As particles settle through the water column they are subjected to extensive dispersal and may eventually be injested by bottom-feeding organisms or bio-accumulation by plankton and, thus, enter the food chain. Geotechnical engineers working as members of multidisciplinary teams apply quantitative knowledge about the behavior and physical performance of earth materials toward designing systems for disposing of these wastes in the oceans and aid in monitoring waste disposal sites. In dredged material disposal geotechnical engineers assist in selecting disposal equipment, predict stable characteristics of dredged material mounds, design mound caps, and predict erodibility of the material. With sewage outfalls, geotechnical engineers design foundation and anchor elements, estimate scour potential around the outfalls, and determine the stability of deposits made up of discharged materials. Geotechnical engineers also consider the influence that pollutants have on the engineering behavior of marine sediment and the extent to which changes in behavior affect the performance of structures founded on the sediment. In each of these roles, careful application of geotechnical engineering principles can contribute toward more efficient and environmentally safe disposal operations.     

Behaviour of arsenic on the continental shelf off the Gironde estuary: Role of phytoplankton in vertical fluxes during spring bloom conditions

The arsenic (As) cycle in the marine environment is known to be sensitive to biological activity. Within the scope of the National Coastal Oceanography Program, we undertook a specific study of the behaviour of this element in a water column on the continental shelf of the Bay of Biscay off the Gironde estuary during two oceanographic cruises conducted in May 1994 and May 1995. Various chemical forms were measured: arsenate (As3), arsenate (As5), monomethylarsenic (MMA), dimethylarsenic (DMA) and dissolved total As after ultraviolet mineralization. The net flux of total As from the Gironde estuary was evaluated as well as its effect on the concentration in surface marine waters. The vertical profiles in the coastal zone during a period of active primary production confirmed a certain analogy between arsenates and phosphates as well as the formation of As3 and DMA. The importance of organoarsenic species not directly accessible to the formation of volatile hydrides is demonstrated. Their presence modifies assessments, reducing the deficit of dissolved total As in the euphotic layer to just 5%. For particles, the As content in phytoplankton was estimated at 6 μg·g⁻¹ compared to 20 to 30 μg·g⁻¹ in iron- and aluminium-rich terrigenous particles. These results do not invalidate the role of phytoplankton in the speciation of dissolved As but indicate that their involvement in vertical transfers was apparently not predominant in the zone under study.     

The influence of the structural distribution and hardness of mineral phases on the size and shape of rock drilling particles

Abstract

Rock drilling is a significant activity widely used in the exploration of marine mineral resources and offshore civil engineering such as marine mining, petroleum and deep-water drilling. The characteristics of size and shape of particles produced during rock drilling influence drilling efficiency and energy consumption. We report a series of drilling experiments on sandstone, limestone and shale to systematically examine particle size distribution and shape and correlate these with original rock structure and composition. Correlations are established via metrics of particle size distribution, average circularity and specific surface area. Impact breakage and contact abrasion of individual particles during rock drilling are the main mechanisms controlling particle size and shape. Impact breakage is controlled by the structural distribution of mineral phases, while contact abrasion is principally related to the hardness of mineral phases. The particle size distribution is affected by the structural distribution of mineral phases. The average circularity of the drilling particles is mainly controlled by the hardness of mineral phases. The specific surface area of rock drilling particles is determined by both structural distribution and hardness of mineral phases – with homogeneous structure and low average hardness of the phases reducing the resulting specific surface area of the drilling products.     

夏季闽东沿海水体中透明胞外聚合颗粒物的分布特征及影响因素

透明胞外聚合颗粒物(TEP)在海洋微食物网和海洋碳循环中发挥着重要作用。本文针对夏季闽东沿海TEP的分布特征及影响因素进行研究。结果表明,闽东沿海TEP含量(以黄原胶为标准物质计算,后同)范围为25.2～935.5 μg/L,平均值为(201.8±177.9) μg/L。整体而言,TEP的分布表现为近岸高、远岸低,表层TEP含量相对于底层要低。相关性分析显示,研究海域TEP含量与浊度和营养盐(硅酸盐、磷酸盐、硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐和铵盐)浓度呈正相关,与pH、溶解氧浓度和小型浮游生物量呈负相关。分级叶绿素a结果显示,相对于其他尺寸浮游植物,调查海域小型浮游生物可能对TEP含量的贡献最大。相比于开阔大洋中TEP主控因素为浮游植物而言,夏季闽东海域TEP主要由浮游植物在衰退阶段产生,其分布主要受颗粒物再悬浮作用影响。该结果不仅进一步阐明了近岸海域与开阔大洋TEP影响因素的区别,并且对我国近海海域不同区域TEP分布研究空白进行了补充。     

Preferential concentration of marine particles in isotropic turbulence

The effect of small-scale turbulence on marine and aquatic particle transport has traditionally been to act as a means for creating homogeneous distributions. However, previous numerical simulations of heavy particle transport in turbulent flows have shown that particles are preferentially concentrated by turbulence and that effects of preferential concentration are most pronounced for particle parameters comparable to the Kolmogorov scales. Therefore, the focus of the present work is examination of the preferential concentration of marine particles. Application of Kolmogorov scaling indicates that effects of preferential concentration may be important for marine particles with diameters of order 1 mm in the upper mixed layer. Numerical simulations of unstratified isotropic turbulence are then used to support the notion that preferential concentration of particles possessing material characteristics representative of those encountered in marine environments can occur. In the simulations, particles of order 1 mm diameter are idealized as rigid spheres with a density ratio of 1.005. Simulation results demonstrate preferential concentration with peak particle number densities ranging from 10 to 60 times the global mean value. Implications of preferential concentration are also discussed, together with the limitations of the approach employed in the present study.     

The tensile and swelling behavior of cement-stabilized marine clay reinforced with short waste fibers

Abstract

Short waste fibers are used to suppress the expansion and improve the tensile strength of cement-stabilized marine clay (CMC). The fiber-reinforced mechanism and characteristics are revealed by experimental and numerical methods. First, the curing effect of the CMC when adding a composite curing agent is observed by scanning electronic microscopy, as is the contact surface between the fiber and the matrix. Then, the expansion rate and the tensile strength of fiber-reinforced cement-stabilized marine clay (FCMC) are illustrated by an expansion experiment and a direct tensile experiment, respectively. The results show that the sample with the cement content of 0.1% and the fiber length of 10?mm is the best in terms of strength enhancement and expansion inhibition. Finally, the mechanism of fiber reinforcement is discussed following a single fiber pullout experiment and some comprehensive explanations are proposed to verify the results of the tensile experiment. A numerical simulation of a single fiber pullout from a matrix is established by using a cohesive contact model. The comparison between the numerical results and the experimental results shows that the two models can be in good agreement, indicating that the calculation model of the interaction between the fiber and the matrix is realistic.     

Gene flow and demographic history of the mangrove crab Neosarmatium meinerti: A case study from the western Indian Ocean

Most marine organisms are characterized by at least one planktonic phase during their life history, potentially allowing interconnection of populations separated by several hundred kilometers. For many years, the idea that marine species are genetically homogenous throughout their range of distribution, due to passive larval transport, has been a paradigm. Nowadays, a growing number of studies underline the existence of boundaries in the marine realm and highlight how larval dispersal is a complex process depending on biotic as well as abiotic factors. Marine fragmented habitats, such as atolls, mangroves and estuaries, are optimal systems for investigating the marine dispersion process under a metapopulation approach, since populations can be geographically defined a priori as opposed to those occupying open marine environments. Within this frame, the present paper investigates the population genetic structure and the demographic history of the mangrove crab Neosarmatium meinerti within the western Indian Ocean by partial sequences of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I. A total of 167 specimens were sampled from six mangrove sites distributed along the East African coast, from Kenya to South Africa, also including a mangrove forest located on Mahé Island, Seychelles. A sharp genetic break between the mainland and the Seychelles is recorded, revealing the existence of two historically distinct groups that can be defined as independent evolutionary units. Gene flow along the East African coast appears to be high enough to form a single metapopulation, probably by means of stepping stone populations. Otherwise, this mainland metapopulation is currently under expansion through a gradual moving front from the subtropical toward the equatorial populations.