Suggested mechanism for the chronic pollution by oil of beaches east of Cape Agulhas,South Africa

The distribution of tar balls over the Agulhas Bank during 1977 and 1978, although variable, was consistent with the oceanography of the region. Mesoscale patches of tar-ball concentrations appeared to move onto the Agulhas Bank from the south between 20 and 21°E, under the influence of prevailing winds and currents. Substantial concentrations were observed inshore and offshore in the region east of Cape Agulhas. Data of a hydrological and meteorological nature, on ship's drift and from drift cards have shown the existence of a zone of surface divergence extending southwards from Cape Agulhas. Surface water east of Cape Agulhas (20°E) tends to move slowly eastwards and northwards and water west of the same longitude has a predominantly westerly component. The surface currents east of Cape Agulhas would tend to move the tar balls, which accumulate in eddies in the area, on shore, whereas west of Cape Agulhas on-shore flow is less pronounced. The residence time of tar balls on the Agulhas Bank appears to be substantial, in the range 2—8 weeks. It is concluded that the beaches between Cape Agulhas and Mossel Bay are highly susceptible to pollution by oil and tar balls.     

Discrepancy between otolith and tag-recovery estimates of growth for two South African surf-zone teleost species

Growth rates determined from recovered tagged galjoen Dichistius capensis and white steenbras Lithognathus lithognathus were compared to predictions from growth models based on otolith ring counts. Galjoen could not be sexed externally, but it was assumed that all fish >450 mm total length were females, which grow faster than males. Those smaller than this were assumed to include mostly males and were treated as a "male" sample. Male and female white steenbras grow equivalently. Tagged "male" (n = 322), and female galjoen (n = 34) and white steenbras (n = 14) grew more slowly than the model predictions. The discrepancy is likely attributable to the physiological effect of external tags on growth.     

Seasonal dynamics of meiofauna in a South African temporarily open/closed estuary (Mdloti Estuary,Indian Ocean)

One hundred and eighty-four of the 250 estuaries in South Africa are currently classified as temporarily open/closed and close off from the sea during the dry season, under low river inflow. The subtropical Mdloti Estuary, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, is one of these systems and hardly any information is available on its meiofauna. The abundance, biomass, composition, and grazing impact of meiofauna, as well as the key environmental factors that affect these variables, were investigated with emphasis on the contrast between open and closed phases of the estuary. Microphytobenthic chlorophyll a concentrations varied between 1.4 to 480 mg m⁻². Meiofauna were composed of nematodes, harpacticoid copepods, crustacean nauplii, mites, turbellarians, polychaetes, oligochaetes, ostracods and chironomids. Total abundance of meiofauna showed large variability both spatially and temporally and ranged from 0.4 to 88×10⁴ ind. m⁻². Nematodes, mites and harpacticoid copepods occurred more often than other groups in the sediment. Total meiofauna carbon biomass exhibited similar temporal as well as spatial patterns as abundance and varied from 0.5 to 440 mg C m⁻². A carbon-based grazing model, applied to the total meiofauna, provided estimates of potential daily ingestion rates ranging from 1.8 to 857 mg C m⁻². Nematodes, mites and harpacticoid copepods contributed the most to the total potential daily ingestion rate of meiofauna in the Mdloti Estuary. Potential ingestion rates, determined using allometric equations, showed that meiofauna consumed from 0.1 to 254% of the microphytobenthic standing stock. Overall, meiofauna were likely not food limited and grazing on microphytobenthos was low, averaging 11% for the whole survey. A principal component analysis, applied to the whole study area and sampling period, indicated that major variations in meiofaunal community are mainly controlled by temperature and the state of the estuary's mouth (i.e. open/closed). Typically, meiofauna abundance in the estuary peaked after periods of prolonged mouth closure and decreased dramatically after the breaching of the estuary at the mouth.     

南海北部深海小型底栖动物丰度和生物量

2010年9月在南海北部5个深海站位和1个浅海站位进行了小型底栖动物和环境因子采样,对小型底栖动物的丰度和生物量进行了定量研究。本次调查中,共鉴定出10个小型底栖动物类群,分别是线虫、桡足类、多毛类、介形类、甲壳类幼体、异足类、寡毛类、涡虫、无板类和等足类。从丰度来看,线虫是绝对的优势类群,占总丰度百分比为94.72%;桡足类次之,占2.70%;多毛类再次,占1.62%;其他类群之和仅占0.96%。从生物量来看,线虫的生物量最大,占总生物量的53.83%;其次是多毛类,占32.17%;居生物量第三位的是桡足类,占7.14%;其他类群之和占6.85%。小型底栖动物的丰度和干重生物量分别为566.12±635.61个·(10cm2)-1和398.43±431.98μg·(10cm 2)-1,线虫的丰度和干重生物量分别为536.21±593.48个·(10cm 2)-1和214.48±237.39μg·(10cm 2)-1。研究站位线虫、桡足类、多毛类和小型底栖动物丰度,小型底栖动物生物量与环境因子的相关分析表明,影响线虫丰度、小型底栖动物丰度、小型底栖生物生物量的主要环境因子包括底层水pH值、沉积物粉砂黏土含量和有机质含量。单因素方差分析(One-way ANVOA)结果表明,线虫丰度、桡足类丰度、小型底栖动物丰度和生物量在不同站位均有显著差异。与渤海、北黄海、南黄海、长江口、芽庄湾(越南)、大亚湾、北部湾、南海近海等海域相比,本研究海域的小型底栖动物丰度和生物量偏低。     

华南砂质海滩的动力地貌分析

为探讨华南砂质海滩的动力地貌学特征,对不同地理岸段不同地貌形态的8 个沙滩剖面于冬、夏季进行现场重复调查和室内分析工作.据此,通过对华南海岸带地质构造、地貌和现代海岸动力环境地域变化的分析,将华南沿海砂质海岸划分为岬湾岸、沙坝-潟湖岸和夷直岸三种基本海岸地貌类型,并且从滩面倾向、海岸动力环境影响、季节冲淤变化趋势和滩面沉积物粒径、坡度的动力响应等方面探讨砂质海滩的动力地貌,得出其受制于多种环境因素的影响,其中地质构造背景和海平面变化为大尺度的砂质海岸地貌的发育奠定了基础,而全新世海侵海平面相对稳定后,海岸动力条件的塑造起着决定性的影响,浪潮作用指数是其中重要的影响指标.     

An assessment of the potential of major meiofauna groups for monitoring organic pollution

The numbers of six meiofauna groups (nematodes, copepods, turbellarians, archiannelids, oligochaetes and gastrotrichs) were estimated from 17 sandy beaches differing in their organic (sewage) pollution loadings. Nematodes were most abundant on polluted and fine sand beaches whilst copepods were more common on coarse sand and rare on polluted beaches. The ratio of nematodes to copepods may thus provide a useful index of beach quality. Archiannelids and oligochaetes seem restricted to particular habitat types and, with the turbellarians, have little potential for biomonitoring. Gastrotrichs occurred in large numbers on one polluted beach.     

Estimation of size at first maturity in two South African coral species

The corals Acropora austera and Platygyra daedalea have been the subject of extensive reproductive and population genetic studies in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (iSimangaliso), on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, eastern South Africa. Despite this, estimates of size at first maturity in these two species are lacking. This information could be used to provide a baseline to differentiate juveniles from adult sizes of corals, an important factor for assessing the condition of scleractinian communities in reefs. Here, we present the methods followed to provide such estimates for these two hard corals. Using generalised linear models and assuming knife-edge maturity (50% probability), it was estimated that A. austera from iSimangaliso matures at c. 15 cm mean colony diameter (MCD) (95% CI: 9.25–20.75 cm MCD) and P. daedalea matures at c. 7 cm MCD (95% CI: 4.55–8.39 cm MCD). These estimates were comparable to those for tropical species which is remarkable considering the high-latitude nature of the sampled reefs. It is expected that the findings from this study will assist in the assessment of reproduction, recruitment, survival and genetic variation in clonal organisms such as corals, and will provide a baseline to assess the effects of climate change on coral communities in the region.     

华南海岸岬间海滩地形动力状态类型研究

海滩地形动力状态分类对于理解近岸带动形动力过程、海滩浴场风险评估等方面有重要的意义。收集了华南51个岬间海滩波高、波周期、潮差和泥沙粒径等地形动力要素特征值,利用分层聚类分析方法,同时结合海滩相对潮差分类模型,对华南岬间海滩的类型进行了探讨,结果表明:(1)华南岬间海滩可以聚类成7个类型。通过与相关的现场观测比较,各类型在地形组合上具有各自的显著特征;(2)聚类分析结果能很好的区分中到大潮差海岸与小潮差海滩之间的差异,与相对潮差模型结果一致。对于小潮差海滩,聚类结果与相对潮差模型有一定的差异,表明华南小潮差海滩的分类还需要进一步深入研究。     

Effects of crude oil on the supralittoral meiofauna of a sandy beach

The supralittoral zone of an open sandy beach was dosed with crude oil and changes in the meiofauna monitored. Treatments included weathered and fresh oil on the surface, fresh oil mixed with dispersant on the surface and weathered oil at the water table, all in layers 0·8 cm thick. In all cases the meiofauna was reduced 1 month after dosing but numbers had returned to normal by 5 months except in the site dosed with fresh oil mixed with dispersant. Oil on the surface had greater effects than oil at the water table; fresh oil had a greater effect than weathered oil and fresh oil with dispersant was more toxic than fresh oil alone. Nematodes were least sensitive to the oil and oligochaetes more sensitive, their numbers being correlated with oil concentrations and depth in the substrate. It is concluded that, under all but the heaviest conditions of pollution in their environment, recovery from oil contamination should occur within 5 months in the meiofauna.     

Diatoms associated with two South African kelp species: Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida

Kelp forests are believed to host a large biomass of epiphytic fauna and flora, including diatoms, which constitute the base of aquatic food webs and play an important role in the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels. Epiphytic diatom assemblages associated with two common species of South African kelps, Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida, were investigated in this study. Primary blades of adult and juvenile thalli of both kelp species were sampled at False Bay in July 2017 and analysed using scanning electron microscopy. Our findings showed that both kelp species hosted relatively low densities of diatoms (ranging from 7 [SD 5] cells mm^?2 on adult specimens of L. pallida to 43 [SD 66] cells mm^?2 on blades of juvenile E. maxima), with Amphora and Gomphoseptatum reaching the highest absolute abundances. Although non-metric multidimensional scaling showed overlapping and largely scattered sample sets, a significant relationship between the diatom communities and the species and age of the host macroalga was detected by two-way PERMANOVA. In general, more abundant and diverse diatom communities were observed on juvenile thalli than on adult thalli, with species belonging to Navicula and Rhoicosphenia contributing significantly to the observed dissimilarity. Due to a significant interaction between species and age effects, however, the overall ability of kelp species, their age, and their interaction to explain the variation in diatom community structure was limited. We suggest that the low densities of epiphytic diatoms were directly related to the sloughing of epithelial cells observed in both kelp species. We further speculate that on such unstable substrata some diatom taxa might adapt to an endophytic life to avoid the antifouling mechanisms developed by their hosts.     

A comparison between the international and US regimes regulating oil pollution liability and compensation

Despite its search for a universal oil spill liability and compensation regime, the maritime community continues to face the dichotomy between the US approach and that adopted by the rest of the world. Both regimes have a two-tier structure that is composed of a liability scheme and a fund scheme. However, the significant differences between the two regimes can be found in the liability limit of a responsible party and the scope of recoverable damages. This explains the reasons why the US took a unilateral approach instead of participating in the international one. In the short term, it seems that the current dual system will continue. In the long term, however, it would be desirable to establish a unified international regime which would enable all actors to direct their energies toward handling oil spills rather than grappling with unilateral legislation in individual jurisdictions of the world. Even before an establishment of a unified international regime, harmonization between the two regimes would not only be helpful for the ultimate unification, but also desirable for transactions of the industries concerned under the current dual system.     

Experimental analysis of infragravity waves in two eroded microtidal beaches

This work aims to contribute to the characterization and understanding of infragravity waves on two beaches with erosion problems. For this reason, we have used an array of ADCP and a pressure sensor to measure wave parameters and pressure inside and outside of the surf zone during the dry and rainy period in the beaches of Galerazamba and Manzanillo del Mar (both dissipative and eroded beaches) located in the Colombian Caribbean coast. Based on these measurements, we have carried out a spectral analysis in order to identify the frequency components that characterize the wave and its energy; thus, we identified the characteristic frequencies of infragravity waves to finally filter the infragravity signal on each beach in different seasonal periods. Among the results of the Welch spectrum applied to surface elevation time series, we found that, the frequencies'' energy of the sea-swell band decreases due to bottom friction and wave breaking as the wave approaches the shore, while the frequencies'' energy of the infragravity band increases significantly. In addition, for the wavelet analysis, we could observe how the energy of the infragravity band, especially the lowest frequencies gain energy as the waves approaches the coast. Furthermore, based on the infragravity wave obtained from the extreme wave event registered during the field campaign we can conclude that the contribution of this signal is important in the erosion problems presented in the beaches of Galerazamba and Manzanillo del Mar. Finally, these results show the need to realize other studies that allow us to understand deeply, the role of infragravity waves on the morphological changes that occurs in these beaches.     

Responses of meiofauna and nematode communities to crude oil contamination in a laboratory microcosm experiment

We examined the effects of crude oil contamination on community assemblages of meiofauna and nematodes after exposure to total petroleum hydrocarbons in the laboratory. We administered a seawater solution that had been contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons to seven treatment groups at different concentrations, while the control group received uncontaminated filtered seawater. The average density of total meiofauna in the experimental microcosms diluted with 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% contaminated seawater was higher than the density in the control. The average density of total meiofauna in the 8%, 15%, and 20% microcosms was lower than the density in the control. The density of nematodes was similar to that of the total meiofauna. Cluster analysis divided the microcosms into group 1 (control, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% microcosms) and group 2 (8%, 15%, and 20% microcosms). However, SIMPROF analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Bolbolaimus spp. (37.1%) were dominant among the nematodes. Cluster analysis showed similar results for nematode and meiofaunal communities. The total meiofaunal density, nematode density, and number of Bolbolaimus spp. individuals were significantly negatively associated with the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (Spearman correlation coefficients, p < 0.05). Within the nematodes, epistrate feeders (group 2A: 46%) were the most abundant trophic group. Among the treatment groups, the abundance of group 2A increased in low-concentration microcosms and decreased in high-concentration microcosms. Thus, our findings provide information on the effects of oil pollution on meiofauna in the intertidal zones of sandy beaches.     

南海中部海域铵浓度及其与浮游植物的关系

本文根据１９８３年９月至１９８５年１月南海中部海域调查的资料，分析了该海区海水中铵浓度的频率分布，垂直分布特征和次表层铵最大值的形成及其与环境因子的关系。结果表明，铵浓度变化范围在０－２．７１μｍｏｌ／ｄｍ＾３之间，铵含量小于０．５μｍｏｌ／ｄｍ＾３的样品数约为样品总数的７８％，铵最大值出现在表层和次表层机率较大。文中还对该海域表层的铵含量与浮游植物的关系进行了初步探讨。     

The abundance and distribution of free-living nematodes from two Canadian Pacific beaches

Free-living marine nematodes at two littoral sites near Vancouver, Canada were studied over a 1-year period. Sixty-four species were found at a Belcarra Park site, with a maximum nematode density of 6·7 × 10⁵ m^?2 and 24 species at Iona Island, with a maximum density of 1·6 × 10⁵ m^?2. At both sites most of the nematodes occurred in the upper 2 cm of the 6 cm depth of sediment examined, and the vertical distribution of most species remained constant during the year. The distribution of the nematodes in relation to some physical parameters is discussed. The occurrence of certain species suggests that they have a worldwide distribution.     

Three-dimensional visualisation of brooding behaviour in two distantly related brittle stars from South African waters

Brooding in ophiuroids (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) is a highly-developed reproduction strategy and has evolved independently several times. In South African waters, brooding occurs both in the very small amphiurid Amphipholis squamata, which is hermaphroditic, and in the large ophiodermatid Ophioderma wahlbergii, which is gonochoric. For the first time, microcomputed tomography was applied to visualise and compare brooding and brooded young of these two brittle star species from two distantly related families. The scanned A. squamata brooded six young, whereas O. wahlbergii brooded 13 young. Volume measurements of the adults revealed that A. squamata dedicated about 25% of its disc volume to brooding and O. wahlbergii about 14%. Although the brooded young of O. wahlbergii are thought to be among the largest of all known ophiuroids, young of A. squamata were four times larger in relation to adult body disc volume. Other than differences in the sizes of brooded young, these distantly related species have evolved very similar brooding adaptations. All juveniles were found lying with the mouth upward, pressed against the mother's bursal wall, strengthening the hypothesis that the bursal wall acts as a nutritive organ. In both species, the large size of the young can only be explained by maternal nutrient supply. Both brittle star species, therefore, are regarded as truly viviparous.     

两个凡纳滨对虾家系体重与体长的关系

凡纳滨对虾Litopeneaus vannamei家系的培育是遗传选育种的基础,其生长特性包括生长速度、体重与体长的关系等,是家系的表型特征。报道了凡纳滨对虾2个家系的体长与体重的关系。通过回归分析,凡纳滨对虾家系1体重(W)与体长(L)的关系为:W=0.0059L3.2809(R2=0.9931);家系2体重与体长的关系为:W=0.0059L3.2974(R2=0.9940),2个家系体重与体长的关系没有明显的变化,得出凡纳滨对虾体重与体长的关系为:W=0.0059L3.2895(R2=0.9934)。     

Transformation of South African industrial fisheries

South African industrial fisheries have been dominated by a few large companies. The Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) of 1998 emphasised that equity was to be achieved by redistribution through co-operative strategies among stakeholders. Instead, the reallocation of fishing rights has been treated as a resource management issue rather than a socio-economic challenge. Further, the institutional structures for transformation have been inappropriate. This paper investigates the institutional dynamics and discrepancies associated with transformation and concludes that the process became locked in a path dependency, which will eventually undermine the intentions of transformation.