Cryptic diversity and phylogeography of the island‐associated barnacle Chthamalus moro in Asia

Pleistocene glaciations were among the important historic events that shaped the population structures of marine organisms. Genetic studies of different marine fauna and flora have demonstrated the effect of Pleistocene glaciations on taxa that reside in marginal seas. However, how marine island species responded to Pleistocene glaciations remains relatively unstudied, especially in Asia. Genetic analyses based on the island‐associated barnacle Chthamalus moro collected from 14 sites in Asia reveal that C. moro comprises three distinct lineages, with COI divergence ranging from 3.9 to 8.3%. Population genetic analyses on respective lineages reveal signs of demographic expansion within the Pleistocene epoch at different times. The Ogasawara lineage, which has a more oceanic distribution, expanded the earliest, followed by the population expansion of the Ryukyu and Southern lineages that inhabit islands closer to the continent. The data suggest that the inhabitants of outer islands may have been less affected by Pleistocene glaciations than those that reside closer to the continent, as the former were able to maintain a large, stable, effective population size throughout the late Pleistocene.     

Productivity of the benguella upwelling in the pleistocene: Evidence from benthic foraminifers

The taxonomic composition of the benthic foraminifers studied in 36 samples of Pleistocene sediments from DSDP Hole 362 drilled in Leg 40 of the D/V Glomar Challenger made it possible to divide the section into the lower and upper Pleistocene units. The variations in the relative proportions of the planktonic and benthic foraminifers and the abundance, diversity, and taxonomic composition of their benthic taxa imply that the Benguella Current in the Walvis Ridge area was located in the early Pleistocene westward of its present-day position, and the upwelling was more intense and its productivity was higher as compared with these parameters in the late Pleistocene. At the onset of the late Pleistocene, the Benguella Current occupied its present-day position with the intermediate waters ascending to the surface, which resulted in the decline of the upwelling’s productivity.     

Cryptic diversity of marine gastropod Monodonta labio (Trochidae): did the early Pleistocene glacial isolation and sea surface temperature gradient jointly drive diversification of sister species and/or subspecies in the Northwestern Pacific?

Formation of glacial refugia during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations has been put forward to elucidate the diversification of marine organisms in the north‐western Pacific. The marine gastropod Monodonta labio is one of the most common species in the Northwestern Pacific and possibly possesses cryptic diversity. Here, we investigate the phylogeographic pattern of this species to test the potential mechanisms driving its diversification in the Northwestern Pacific. Genetic information for two mitochondrial genes (Cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S rDNA) and one nuclear gene (internal transcribed spacer 1) was acquired to detect genetic structuring and to reconstruct the gastropod's phylogenetic history. Our results revealed that M. labio is comprised of five main clades, and divergence time estimates place their cladogenesis as corresponding to the initiation (c. 2.5 mya) and intensification (c. 0.9 mya) of large‐scale Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The early and middle Pleistocene divergence times are consistent with the emergence times of the Dongshan land bridge, which would seperate the ancient East China Sea and the ancient South China Sea forming two potential refugia. In addition, the deep trough in the Qiongzhou Strait would possibly act as another potential refugium with the uplift of the Qiongzhou Strait at mid‐Pleistocene. This study suggests that the current genetic architecture of M. labio is probably correlated with glacial isolation and sea surface temperature gradient. We also put forward the possibility that these factors were probably an important driver for the diversification of sister species or subspecies of other taxa in the Northwestern Pacific.     

Pleistocene Ross seal (ommatophoca Rossi) from New Zealand (note)

A fossil seal jaw from the Early Pleistocene (Wanganui Series; Hautawan Stage) of Napier, New Zealand, is identified as that of an Ommatophoca rossi juvenile of less than 1.8 m body length.     

A pleistocene mummified ostracod from the Wairarapa district

A mummified specimen of Scottia insularis Chapman is recorded from beds of Upper Nukumaruan age (Pleistocene) at Gladstone in the Wairarapa Valley. This is the first record of a mummified species from New Zealand.     

Notes on the ecology and paleoecology of neothyrls,an endemic New Zealand brachiopod

Neothyris lecticularis (Deshayes, 1839) live mainly south o'f 44°S in waters 90–180 m (extremes 18–384 m) deep where bottom temperatures are always >7°c. Fossil N. “avails” (Hutton, 1886) in the early Pleistocene limestone at Castlepoint (41 °S) are associated with an assemblage of animals generioally the same as the living N. lenticularis assemblage of Foveaux Strait. The granular substrate occupied by the living animals is similar to the matrix of the Castlepoint limestone. Thus the early Pleistocene marine climate in 90–180 m at 43°S may have been about 5°c cooler than it is today; the possible use is mentioned of the presence of the fossil assemblage in studies of palaeoelimates.

Population analysis of living and fossil stocks show a constant bias toward the older age‐groups; this finding is discussed. Various ecological observations are recorded.     

Identifying late Quaternary coastal deposits in Kyonggi Bay, Korea, by their geotechnical properties

Based on cone penetration tests with pore pressure measurements (CPTUs) and standard penetration tests (SPTs), the geotechnical properties of five lithostratigraphic units were determined during the construction of Incheon international airport on reclaimed macrotidal flats in Kyonggi Bay, Korea. Two late Pleistocene non-marine units (unit V and unit IV) display largest N values (cf. number of blows required to achieve a standard penetration), reflecting coarse-grained and overconsolidated sediments. Tidal channel and tidal flat facies (unit IIIb) consist of unweathered late Pleistocene tidal sand and mud. The tidal channel facies is characterized by upward-decreasing cone resistance (q _t) and sleeve friction (f _s) with negative pore pressures (u _bt), reflecting a fining-upward textural trend. The tidal flat facies, by contrast, is represented by uniformly low q _t and f _s values with high friction ratios (FRs), suggesting homogeneous muddy deposits. Two overconsolidated units, a weathered late Pleistocene tidal mud (unit IIIa) and an early Holocene organic-rich non-marine mud (unit II), are characterized by high q _t, f _s, FRs and N values, unit IIIa being much more consolidated than unit II. Holocene tidal sands and muds (unit I) show the smallest q _t and f _s values with positive u _bt. These are slightly more consolidated than the tidal flat facies of unit IIIb. Two unconformable boundaries (a sequence boundary and a transgressive surface) have also been identified on some CPTU and SPT profiles. The boundaries are indicated by gradual but sharp increases in q _t, f _s and N values with an abrupt drop of u _bt, which indicates the contact between two units showing contrasting rigidity. The regional pattern produced by the unconformable boundaries indicates the presence of late Pleistocene valleys which pass through the middle of study area. The location of the valleys seems to be controlled by the antecedent basement morphology.     

Kermadec Island giant limpet occurring fossil in New Zealand,and relict distributions in the tropics

A large fossil limpet from the Isolated Hill Limestone (Oligocene) of Mason River, Marlborough, is described as Patella (Scutellastra) kermadecensis aurorae n. subsp., a subspecies of the living Kermadec giant limpet. Thus this limpet is not a primary endemic species at the Kermadec Islands, but a surviving relict population of a species formerly more widespread during the Tertiary. Such relict populations in the Indo‐West Pacific imply that the tropics were not immune from the effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations.     

Stability of the Courses of the Warm Coastal Currents along the Kyushu Island Suggested by the Population Structure of the Japanese Turban Shell, Turbo (Batillus) Cornutus

The genetic structure of a population of the Japanese turban shell, Turbo (Batillus) cornutus at Sata-Misaki Point, on the southern coast of Kyushu Island, was determined on the basis of nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA and compared with that of a population of the western coast of Kyushu Island. The significant genetic differentiation between these two populations suggests that the courses of the warm currents along the coast of the Kyushu Island have been relatively stable after the divergence between the two genetically distant groups of the Japanese turban shell, which was estimated to have occurred during some period in Pleistocene.     

晚更新世末期南黄海中部埋藏古三角洲的研究

１９９２－１９９３年用浅地层剖面仪对南黄海中部浅地层进行测量在,７０－８０ｍ左在的深水区发现了埋藏三角洲堆积体,结合实测海底地形图及岩芯沉积相资料对浅地层剖面进行了综合分析,结果表明,该区域是距今２．７万ａ左右的黄河河口三角洲,这说明,晚更新世末期黄河已经流入南黄海陆架区,水深７０－８０ｍ附近曾经发育一期古海岸线。     

Phylogeographic study on the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the Northwestern Pacific indicates the late Pleistocene population isolation

In the present study, the population genetic structure and historical demography of the chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus, in the Northwestern Pacific were examined based on the full‐length sequences of the mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b gene. A total of 320 individuals was sampled from 11 localities along the coast of China and Japan from August 2011 to May 2013. Two main clades representing Chinese and Japanese populations, respectively, were detected, suggesting population isolation of S. japonicus during the late Pleistocene era. The Chinese clade was further divided into two small clades and the distribution of haplotypes were not related to sampling locality, which may be a signature of secondary contact following past division. Analyses of molecular variance and pairwise F_ST revealed significant genetic differentiation between the Chinese and Japanese populations, but a lack of genetic structure for the populations along the coast of China. Both neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analysis suggested that the populations along the coast of China experienced population expansion during the late Pleistocene. Historical events, biological characteristics and other extrinsic forces such as ocean currents may all be associated with the current phylogeographic pattern of S. japonicus in the Northwestern Pacific.     

Notes on New Zealand chitons (Mollusca,Amphineura)

A synopsis of the classification of the New Zealand Polyplacophora is presented. The name Lepidochitonidae is replaced by the earlier Callochitonidae, Plaxi‐phoridae by Mopaliidae, Aulacochitonidae by Schizochitonidae, and Cryptocon‐chidae by Acanthochitonidae.

Vaferichiton Iredale and Hull is treated as a subgenus of Aerilamma Hull. Lorica H. and A. Adams is used instead of its junior synonym Aulacochiton Shuttleworth. Lorica haurakiensis Mestayer is recorded from the Nukumaruan (Lower Pleistocene). Paricoplax profundior Dell is placed in Loricella Pilsbry. Icoplax chathamensis Dell is made the type species of a new subgenus of Anthochiton Localities in southern New Zealand for Notoplax cuneata (Suter) and Lorica haurakiensis are listed.     

Geophysical assessment of submarine slide northeast of Wilmington canyon

Abstract

As part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program to understand bottom and nearbottom processes on the continental margin, the continental slope seaward of the coast of Delaware, just east of the Baltimore Canyon Trough, and northeast of Wilmington Canyon was studied in detail. With a suite of geophysical data, a 7.5 × 13.0‐km portion of the continental slope was surveyed and found to be composed of a large submarine slide, approximately 11 km ³ in volume. The slide varies from 50 to 300 m in thickness and is believed to be composed of Pleistocene Age sediments. The internal structure of the continental slope can be seen on the seismic reflection profiles, as well as the readily identifiable continuous slip surface. Pliocene to Cretaceous horizons comprise the continental margin with Pliocene to Eocene horizons truncated at the slip surface. Sediment failure occurred on the slope between the late Tertriary erosion surface, which shaped the continental margin, and the overlying Quaternary sediments. A mechanism suggested to have contributed to the sediment failure is a late Pleistocene lower stand of sea level. Creep of surficial sediments is believed to be active on the surface of the submarine slide, indicating present‐day instability.     

Geotechnical characterization of slump scars,eroded slopes,and correlated deposits on continental margins: Gulf of Lions,Western Mediterranean sea

Abstract

Vertical variations of geotechnical properties in the uppermost sediment layers characterize the main sedimentary processes acting on the construction and destruction of progressive‐type continental slopes. In the Gulf of Lions, the original thicknesses and distribution of the uppermost sedimentary layers of the continental slope and rise, which consist of Holocene muds overlying Pleistocene muds, have been greatly modified by erosion and several kinds of slope failure processes. Each process is typified through sets of geotechnical properties measured in the eroded or slumped sections and in the associated sediment accumulations.

In slump scars, the water‐rich Holocene muds lie on fine, overconsolidated, Pleistocene muds with high plasticity and low shear strength. In bottom current‐eroded slopes, where modern sedimentation is extremely reduced, the Pleistocene muds frequently outcrop and may sometimes be overlain by a very thin layer of Holocene muds. The Pleistocene muds of eroded slopes are overconsolidated and more silty and less plastic than the Pleistocene muds from slopes affected by slope failure, their shear strength being 10 times greater.

Deposits at the toe of slumps are very often formed by several superposed three‐layer units (triplets of interstratified Holocene, transitional, and Pleistocene layers) issued from retrogressive slumping occurring in the slump scars above their head area. The main body of each layer is then relatively undisturbed, showing the usual burial geotechnical gradients due to overburden pressure (i.e., decrease of water content and increase of unit weight and shear strength). At the toe of bottom current‐eroded slopes, a thick and homogeneous layer of Holocene muds overlies the Pleistocene muds; this Holocene layer has unappreciable burial depth gradient of its geotechnical parameters because of a high rate of modem and continuous deposition.     

Accumulation of biogenie silica and opal dissolution in upper quaternary skagerrak sediments

In a core from the outer Skagerrak, the content of biogenic opal is higher in Late Pleistocene (Younger Dryas) than in Holocene deposits. In terms of opal accumulation, rates are 1 g/cm²/1,000 y during the Holocene and five to ten times larger during the Younger Dryas. Intensive dissolution has greatly reduced the Holocene opal content and does not allow calculation of paleoproductivity. The intensity of opal dissolution is reflected by dissolution stages of both the diatomParalia sulcata and sponge spicules. The intensity of dissolution is negatively correlated to the sedimentation rate and appears to be controlled by silica-undersaturated environment on the sea floor and the uppermost sediment layer.     

珠江口盆地晚第四纪地层及环境初步研究

本文利用珠江口盆地四个工程钻井的古生物、古地磁、同位素及沉积物资料，对钻孔所揭露的地层进行划分，认为所钻遇的地层包括下更新统（上部）、中更新统、上更新统及全新统。依据古生物分异度及含量作出海平面变化曲线，识别出十个海侵期，利用钙质超微化石特征种的初现面和末现面资料，将本区海平面变化曲线与太平洋Ｖ＿（２８－２３９）氧同位素曲线对比，分析了本区晚第四纪以来的沉积环境和气候，认为早更新世晚期，中更新世中期，晚更新世早期及全新世本区气候温暖，沉积环境属陆架浅海环境。     

Benthic foraminifera and sediment grain size variability at intermediate water depths in the Northeast Atlantic during the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene

Sedimentological and faunal records from the transitional period marking the onset of widespread northern hemisphere glaciation have been investigated at Ocean Drilling Program Site 984. The late Pliocene interglacial sediments of the northeast Atlantic are carbonate rich and show evidence of vigorous bottom water circulation at intermediate water depths. Contrasting this, the late Pliocene glacial sediments are characterised by carbonate dissolution and slower bottom current velocities. Weak or “leaky” Norwegian Sea overflows, undersaturated with respect to carbonate, influenced this region during the late Pliocene glacials. The early Pleistocene pattern of intermediate water circulation appears to have changed radically in the northeast Atlantic. At this time, interglacial carbonate values and inferred bottom current velocities are low. This suggests slow-flowing, undersaturated Norwegian Sea water bathing the site. The overflow increased during the early Pleistocene interglacials as the exchange between the Atlantic and Norwegian-Greenland Seas improved. The most significant feature of the early Pleistocene glacials is the increase in inferred bottom current velocity. These changes reflect a switch in deep North Atlantic convection to shallower depths during glacial periods, possibly in a manner similar to the increasing contribution of glacial intermediate water to the North Atlantic during the late Pleistocene glacials. Our results suggest that the late Pleistocene climate variability of the North Atlantic is a pervasive feature of the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene record.     

Evidence for sinistral strike-slip deformation in The Solomon Island arc

During the SOPACMAPS 2 crusie carried out by IFREMER (Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer) and ORSTOM (Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le dévelopement en Coopération) on theR/V L'Atalante, in the Central Solomon Arc area, multibeam bathymetric and imagery data and single-channel seismic reflection profiles were collected from an area of about 3500 km², to evaluate regional tectonics. Structural data geophysical profiles interpretation provide evidence for left-lateral transtensional tectonics on the southern edge of the Central Solomon Trough. This transtensional deformation is represented by faulting, block tilting, and rhombohedral deformation. The regional geology and the analysis of the sedimentary cover allow us to demonstrate that this tectonic occurred in two different phases during Oligocene to Miocene and Pliocene to Pleistocene times.     

Fossil fauna and transgressive.sequence from core QC2 in the South Huanghai Sea

According to palaeoenvironmental analysis on the fossil fauna dominated by Foraminifera and Ostracoda, core QC2 contains 8 marine transgressive beds, called (from up to bottom) Transgressive Beds Ⅰ,Ⅱ, Ⅲ, …,Ⅷ respectively. Together with dating data, the transgressive sequence since 1. 7 Ma B. P. has been established, indicating that the core went through middle and late Early Pleistocene, early and late Middle Pleistocene, early and late (Substages A and B) Late Pleistocene and the Holocene transgressions. Within these 8 transgressions, late Middle Pleistocene, early Late Pleistocene and the Holocene transgressions-had rather strong activities proved by shallow sea (of 50 or 20-50 m water depth) deposits in the prime, while 2 of the 8, during middle Early Pleistocene and late Late Pleistocene (Substage A), were much weaker only with supratidal deposits. The transgressive cycles also differ from each other. Transgressions in the Holocene and in Substage B of late Late Pleistocene are made up of 3 and     

Controls on organic carbon distribution in sediments from the eastern Arabian Sea Margin

 Sediment cores from the upper continental slope of the eastern Arabian Sea have high organic carbon (OC), CaCO₃, and sand content at the top. The values decrease with increasing depth in the Holocene and Upper Pleistocene. Topographic highs show highest OC and lower CaCO₃ in the Holocene clayey sediments and vice versa in the Pleistocene sandy sediments. The OC is immature and marine or a mixture of both marine and terrestrial in the Holocene sediments and is mostly terrestrial and/or reworked marine in the Pleistocene sediments. Productivity is the main controlling factor for the organic carbon enrichment. Texture and reworking also influence the organic carbon variations. Received: 29 May 1996/Revision received: 10 January 1997