Trophic ecology of the Patagonian skate, Bathyraja macloviana, on the Argentine continental shelf

When this article was originally published     

Big fish (and a smallish skate) eat small fish: diet variation and trophic level of Sympterygia acuta,a medium‐sized skate high in the food web

The bignose fanskate, Sympterygia acuta, is a small‐to‐medium‐sized species endemic to shallow coastal waters of the Southwest Atlantic. Sympterygia acuta displays a clear seasonal reproductive cycle, characterized by maximum egg‐laying activity in spring and hatching in summer. We hypothesized that diet and feeding activity change with maturity stage and season and that, given its smallish size, the trophic level is low. Using a multiple‐hypothesis modeling approach, the diet of S. acuta in relation to sex, body size, maturity stage, region (i.e. north and south) and season was analysed; and a potential relationship between feeding activity and the seasonal reproductive cycle was assessed. Sympterygia acuta fed on a broad spectrum of prey, but teleosts were more important (47.97% index of relative importance, %IRI), followed by decapods (39.84%IRI), cumaceans (8.31%IRI) and isopods (1.89%IRI). Maturity stage was a strong determinant of the ontogenetic diet shift of S. acuta, and relationships between number of prey consumed with season and region were found.. Feeding activity was higher in the cold season than in the warm season, and was less important in the south region than in the north region. Unexpectedly, the specific trophic level was high (3.87). Sympterygia acuta shifts its diet with maturity stage, possibly by a combination of an improved ability to capture prey and a change in energy demand of mature individuals. Despite being a small‐to‐medium‐sized skate, S. acuta showed a trophic level similar to that of large‐bodied marine predators. It reduces its feeding activity seasonally because in the warm season this species may experience an increased predation risk from large sharks.     

沙脊沙波泥沙数学模型的研究

在剪切水流条件下,基于水沙两相流动量方程,推导出描述海底沙脊沙波内在演变规律的基本方程。将此方程与二维浅水环流方程、波浪折射-绕射方程进行耦合,建立大范围海区平面二维波、流、泥沙数学模型,并结合海区实际观测水文地质、潮汐、波浪、泥沙资料进行模型验证。通过对比分析发现,数值模拟值与实测站位观测值二者吻合较好,表明了模型的可靠性。应用此模型对东方1-1气田穿越的大范围海底沙脊沙波在相应海动力条件下的移动规律及演变趋势进行定量预测,结果显示,随着时间的推移,沙脊沙波移动距离逐年递增,但发展变化趋势基本稳定。     

Cementation in cold-water bryozoan sand, Tasmania, Australia

Cold-water (<3–11°C) carbonate is the predominant sediment on the Tasmanian shelf. Calcitic skeletal grains (bryozoa, foraminifera, echinoderms, etc.) predominate over aragonitic (gastropods, etc.) ones. Non-skeletal grains are mostly micritic intraclasts with some pellets.

Fibrous spherulitic and rhombohedral calcite submarine cements range up to 90% in the bryozoan sand. X-ray analyses show that the bryozoan sand is characterized by a spectrum of calcites (low to high magnesian) and some aragonite.

A uniform spread of Mg concentrations from 0.06 to 2.48 wt.% indicates <3–10°C ambient water temperatures. The Mn (10–360 ppm) and Fe (176–2499 ppm) concentrations increase with increasing Mg values due to the formation of impure CaCO₃ phases. The Sr content in bryozoan sand (bryozoa = 3200 ppm Sr) decreases with increasing rhombohedral calcite cement, as low Mg-calcite precipitating from 3° C sea water would have 1350 ppm Sr. The bryozoan sand grains with fibrous spherulitic calcite cements have high Sr concentrations (4470–7000 ppm), in the same range as in aragonitic (detected only by X-ray analyses) bryozoan sand grains. The spherulitic calcite cements are either pseudomorphs after original aragonite cements or these calcite cements and aragonite were inverted from fibrous spherulitic vaterite, a predominant CaCO₃ polymorph at temperatures <10°C.     

鳐鱼肝油的制备及其脂肪酸组成分析

本研究采用冷冻 解冻的方法提取鳐鱼肝粗脂肪油,并利用响应面法优化了精炼过程中影响较大的脱酸工艺,分析了精炼后鳐鱼肝油的理化性质、脂肪酸组成及含量变化。结果表明：使用5%(质量分数)脱胶剂脱胶,20%(质量分数)氢氧化钠、75 ℃加热20 min进行脱酸,8%(质量分数)活性白土脱色,以及减压蒸馏(60 r/min,40 ℃)60 min脱臭的鳐鱼肝油精炼工艺为最优精炼工艺条件,所得精炼鳐鱼肝油呈色及各项理化性质均符合国家一级鱼油标准。脂肪酸组成与粗鳐鱼肝油、鳕鱼肝油以及鲨鱼肝油无明显差别,均含有C14~C22脂肪酸23种,但在含量上存在一定差别,其中精炼鳐鱼肝油中EPA含量为8.65%,低于粗鳐鱼肝油(10.17%),远高于鲨鱼肝油(2.74%),约等于鳕鱼肝油(8.78%)。精炼鳐鱼肝油中DHA含量则为最高,为15.04%。     

History and sand budgets of the barrier island system in the Panama City,Florida, region

Shell Island and Crooked Island peninsulas comprise the Holocene barrier system in the Panama City, Florida, region. Both of these peninsulas have experienced a history of integration-fragmentation-integration superimposed on a net shoreward migration since 1779. Catastrophic events such as hurricanes are most probably responsible for the pass cutting which has fragmented these barriers. Both barrier peninsulas have very nearly segmented St. Andrew Sound into an eastern and western portion. This segmentation has been achieved through natural causes in the eastern or Crooked Island region, but an alternation in the tidal return pattern, effected by the cutting of a canal across Shell Island, is probably responsible for the ongoing segmentation of the western portion.Rates of erosion/deposition, determined by comparing bathymetries charted in 1877, 1930, and 1946, demand that these two peninsulas receive material by eastward transport. Furthermore, the long shore drift of both peninsulas is bidirectional, northwesterly and southeasterly. These two drift components are very nearly equal in magnitude immediately west of Shell Island; net easterly drift occurs on Shell Island peninsula. Crooked Island experiences net westerly and easterly drift; the easterly drift terminates in the Bell Shoal area and does not reach the adjacent St. Joe Spit.     

颗粒形状对珊瑚砂和石英砂沉降影响的试验研究

在研究海岸侵蚀的过程中,泥沙沉速是一个重要参数,对于侵淤量的计算非常重要。近些年来,由于工程活动、海洋动力和气候等因素变化的影响,珊瑚砂海岸的侵蚀冲刷问题已不容忽视。考虑到珊瑚砂与石英砂在形状、比重上的不同会对其沉速造成影响,套用现有石英砂的沉速公式进行计算并不合适。本文针对珊瑚砂和石英砂进行沉降试验,分析形状对珊瑚砂沉速的影响。结果显示,在小粒径(d 0.5 mm)下形状对珊瑚砂沉速的影响并不明显,在大粒径(d 0.5 mm)下明显减缓了珊瑚砂的沉降速度,套用石英砂的沉降公式计算出的珊瑚砂沉速明显偏大。故通过提出动力形状因子这一参数来表征形状对沉降的影响,推导出考虑了形状影响的沉降公式,能够较为准确地计算砂粒的沉速范围,计算精度随着黏度的增大而提升。     

海坛岛芦洋浦平原的海进沙与风沙层序

本文研究了福建海坛岛芦洋浦平原的海进沙与风沙层序。结果表明,芦洋浦平原原是一个水深20～30m、走向NNE的海湾,全新世初期的海进沙层厚2～5m覆盖在陆相冲积和风化层上。后来,海平面波动,从台湾海峡推来残留沙超覆其上。经一段时间的正常环境后,距今约2400～2000a,由于地球气候的变化,风沙逐渐发育,厚5～10m的风沙层埋盖了海湾沉积,建造了面积68km~2的大沙坪和半封闭的泻湖。     

台湾浅滩海底沙波精细特征、分类与分布规律

迄今由于缺乏高精度的实测水深数据,对台湾浅滩沙波的精细结构缺乏详细的阐述。本文基于多波束实测资料研究台湾浅滩沙波形态的精细特征及其分布规律。多波束探测结果显示:研究区沙波的平均波高达到13.5m,沙波波峰处水深为20.42m,沙波平均波高约为水深的2/3,沙波的波长大多数处于500~700m之间。研究区内主要发育3种类型的沙波,即摆线型沙波、余弦型沙波和双峰型沙波。研究区西部主要发育双峰型沙波,中部则主要发育余弦型和摆线型沙波,而东部主要发育摆线型沙波,整个区域以摆线型沙波为主。海平面波动、台湾海峡复杂的水动力条件以及台湾岛丰富的山溪河流携带的大量沉积物进入海峡,对浅滩区的沙波具有强烈的改造作用。     

Comparison of buried sand ridges and regressive sand ridges on the outer shelf of the East China Sea

Based on multi-beam echo soundings and high-resolution single-channel seismic profiles, linear sand ridges in U14 and U2 on the East China Sea (ECS) shelf are identified and compared in detail. Linear sand ridges in U14 are buried sand ridges, which are 90 m below the seafloor. It is presumed that these buried sand ridges belong to the transgressive systems tract (TST) formed 320–200 ka ago and that their top interface is the maximal flooding surface (MFS). Linear sand ridges in U2 are regressive sand ridges. It is presumed that these buried sand ridges belong to the TST of the last glacial maximum (LGM) and that their top interface is the MFS of the LGM. Four sub-stage sand ridges of U2 are discerned from the high-resolution single-channel seismic profile and four strikes of regressive sand ridges are distinguished from the submarine topographic map based on the multi-beam echo soundings. These multi-stage and multi-strike linear sand ridges are the response of, and evidence for, the evolution of submarine topography with respect to sea-level fluctuations since the LGM. Although the difference in the age of formation between U14 and U2 is 200 ka and their sequences are 90 m apart, the general strikes of the sand ridges are similar. This indicates that the basic configuration of tidal waves on the ECS shelf has been stable for the last 200 ka. A basic evolutionary model of the strata of the ECS shelf is proposed, in which sea-level change is the controlling factor. During the sea-level change of about 100 ka, five to six strata are developed and the sand ridges develop in the TST. A similar story of the evolution of paleo-topography on the ECS shelf has been repeated during the last 300 ka.     

Recolonization and recovery dynamics of the macrozoobenthos after sand extraction in relict sand bottoms of the Northern Adriatic Sea

The long-term effects of sand extraction on macrozoobenthic communities were investigated in an offshore area in the Northern Adriatic Sea characterised by relict sands formed during the last Adriatic post-glacial transgression. Surveys were carried out before, during and 1, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months after extraction at three impacted and seven reference stations. The operations did not influence the physical characteristics of the sediment, but they caused almost complete defaunation at dredged sites. Univariate and multivariate analyses highlighted that the macrozoobenthic community responses to the dredging operations were (1) a rapid initial recolonisation phase by the dominant taxa present before dredging, which took place 6-12 months after sand extraction; (2) a slower recovery phase, that ended 30 months after the operations, when the composition and structure of the communities were similar in the dredged and reference areas. This pattern of recolonisation-recovery fits well with the commonly encountered scenario where the substratum merely remains unchanged after marine aggregate extraction.     

Morphological evolution of gravel and sand extraction pits, Tromper Wiek, Baltic Sea

The growing demand for marine mineral resources introduces anthropogenic impacts in the coastal zone, among others also through aggregate dredging. Pits created by anchor hopper dredging may affect local sediment budgets, local hydrodynamics and biological habitats. In this study we investigate the processes and time-scales of pits refilling at two extraction sites over 6 years following cessation of dredging. We focused on the evolution of a single pit at a gravel extraction site and the development of a group of three pits located at a sand extraction site. In the case of the gravel pit, a series of six sonograph and two multibeam surveys were evaluated. We observed a spatial expansion of the edge of the pit, decreasing availability of screened sand in the neighbourhood of the pit (a possible source of refilling), and a slowing down of the refilling process with time. At the sandy pit site a series of seven sonographs and two multibeam surveys were available. We observed a smoothing of the edges and larger mean refilling rates than in the gravel pit case. We conclude that the most effective method for monitoring of pit evolution is to make measurements every six months by simultaneously deploying sidescan sonar and multibeam devices.     

Recolonization and recovery dynamics of the macrozoobenthos after sand extraction in relict sand bottoms of the Northern Adriatic Sea

The long-term effects of sand extraction on macrozoobenthic communities were investigated in an offshore area in the Northern Adriatic Sea characterised by relict sands formed during the last Adriatic post-glacial transgression. Surveys were carried out before, during and 1, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months after extraction at three impacted and seven reference stations. The operations did not influence the physical characteristics of the sediment, but they caused almost complete defaunation at dredged sites. Univariate and multivariate analyses highlighted that the macrozoobenthic community responses to the dredging operations were (1) a rapid initial recolonisation phase by the dominant taxa present before dredging, which took place 6–12 months after sand extraction; (2) a slower recovery phase, that ended 30 months after the operations, when the composition and structure of the communities were similar in the dredged and reference areas. This pattern of recolonisation–recovery fits well with the commonly encountered scenario where the substratum merely remains unchanged after marine aggregate extraction.     

孔鳐雄性生殖系统解剖学与组织学观察

本研究对成年雄性孔鳐(Okamejei kenojei)的生殖系统进行解剖学和组织学观察,结果表明,孔鳐的生殖系统主要由精巢、附睾、输精管、储精囊、间质腺、鳍脚腺和鳍脚组成。其中孔鳐的精巢中的精小囊,按照成熟度依次由中心向小叶外周辐射状排列,其精子发育成熟过程根据精巢支持细胞的位置、精小囊的大小和精小囊中的生精细胞所处的状态可划分为7个时期:精巢支持细胞未迁移期、精巢支持细胞迁移期、精巢支持细胞定植早期、精巢支持细胞定植晚期、精子变形期、精子迁移期、精子聚拢期。变态成熟的精子最终每59~64根精子组成精子束进入附睾。精子束在附睾中经历“游离-聚拢-游离”3个过程后,最终储存在储精囊中。鳍脚是孔鳐的外生殖器,主要有鳍扇、扇盾等结构组成,它与储精囊相连,是将精液输送至体外的器官。     

Sedimentology of a subtidal,tide-dominated sand body in the Yellow Sea,southwest Korea

Odanam Satoe, a subtidal, tide-dominated sand body in the Yellow Sea, Korea, is linear in plan and asymmetrical in cross-section. It consists of fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted subangular sand. Bedforms consist of high-amplitude (1–2 m) sandwaves on the lower flanks of the gentler-sloping bar surface, and medium-amplitude (0.5-1 m) sandwaves on the sand body trough adjoining the steeper face, the bar crest and shallower parts of the gently sloping bar surface. Bedforms are absent on the relatively steeper bar surface, which is characterized by 2° slopes. Bedform orientation on the gentler slope is oblique by 30° to the bar crest, parallel to the sand-body crest on the crest itself, and opposite to the steeper sand-body face in the trough below the steeper slope of the bar.Bottom current velocity data show that tidal currents are semi-rotary with a flood time—velocity asymmetry over the gentler slope, and ebb time—velocity asymmetry over the steeper slope during most of the tidal cycle. Tidal-current flow parallels bar elongation over the steeper slope, whereas over the gentler slope, tidal-current flow is directed at 30° to the bar crest and changes to normal to the crest one hour prior to low tide. Bedform orientation mapped with side-scan sonar shows agreement with these flow directions.Sand dispersal around the sand body is controlled by time—velocity asymmetry and partial rotary flow directions of tidal currents. This circulation causes not only a trapezoidal mode of grain dispersal, but also westerly migration of the sand body documented from comparative bathymetric surveys in 1964 and 1980.