Spatial variability in growth and reproduction of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) along the west European coast

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was introduced in Europe for commercial purposes in the mid 1960s. It was initially thought that low winter temperatures would restrain this species' reproduction and settlement; however, its present distribution in areas where no introduction has taken place suggests that natural invasion and expansion has occurred. Along the European coast, wild populations of Pacific oysters are already found from northern Germany to southern Portugal. Whether C. gigas will continue to further expand through northern waters will depend on its physiological performance. In this study, the performance of wild oyster populations has been studied in terms of growth and reproduction at three stations: La Rochelle (France; 46°N), Yerseke (Oosterschelde estuary, The Netherlands, 51°N), and Texel (Wadden Sea estuary, The Netherlands, 53°N). The French population had the lowest somatic-shell mass ratio and an increase in maximum shell length, somatic and gonadal mass was observed from France to the Netherlands. In addition, mean oocyte diameter decreased significantly from south to north. The combination of increasing gonadal mass and decreasing oocyte volume suggests an increasing reproductive output in terms of egg numbers from France to The Netherlands. Differences in temperature between locations will at least be partly responsible for the observed patterns; however, other environmental factors (such as food availability, predation pressure, sediment type and/or seston concentration) cannot be excluded. Since smaller eggs (oocytes) are thought to have a longer development time, the environmental conditions along the Dutch coast may result in increased larval dispersal and possibly in further population expansion.     

Growth and reproduction of the bivalve Spisula subtruncata (da Costa) in Dutch coastal waters

The bivalve Spisula subtruncata is usually abundant in shallow coastal waters along the Dutch coast. However, its biomass has been decreasing since 1995. In order to assess whether reproductive failure may be the cause of the observed decline over the last decades, the energy investment in reproduction of a population of S. subtruncata from central Dutch coastal waters was studied. The population studied consisted of individuals of up to four years old. Shell length reached maximum values of around 32 mm and individual total body, somatic and gonadal ash-free dry mass reached maximum values of about 278 mg AFDM, 252 mg AFDM and 76 mg AFDM, respectively. A clear seasonal cycle in somatic and gonadal mass was observed. Somatic and gonadal mass indices increased in early spring and reached maximum values during summer, followed by a decrease to minimum values at the beginning of the following year. Spawning was in June–July and settlement of spat seems to have occurred in July–August. Mean oocyte diameter was 57.43 ± 0.03 μm, corresponding to a volume of 98972 μm³. These results suggested that reproductive failure was not the cause of the current population decline. Most likely, unsuccessful settlement of spat and/or severe predation during the first months of life were responsible for the observed patterns.     

Rare species, habitat diversity and functional redundancy in marine benthos

Macro-ecological theories relating species richness, abundance, range size, biological traits and environmental tolerance have rarely been tested in marine soft-sediments, despite the spatial extent of these habitats and the inherent richness of resident communities. This study examines the contribution of rare species to marine soft-sediment communities from New Zealand, focussing on the relationships of range size with abundance, environment, habitat diversity and life history traits. 54% of the 351 species sampled exhibited restricted ranges (found at ≤ 2 sites). In contrast to many terrestrial systems, we observed only a weak positive relationship between abundance and frequency of occurrence. Restricted-range species were not randomly distributed, with their distribution related to habitat characteristics, suggesting an important link between habitat diversity and rarity. They exhibited a similar range of traits to the total observed species pool, suggesting that they are not only important to biodiversity but could play a role in stability. Restricted range species were generally not small and this, together with the number of different biological traits represented, suggests that rare species are important to the functioning of marine systems. Thus, our results highlight the importance of considering rare species in habitat-based approaches to conservation.     

Bathymetric segregation of sea urchins on reefs of the Canarian Archipelago: Role of flow-induced forces

We examined whether adults of three species of sea urchins species (Diadema antillarum, Arbacia lixula, and Paracentrotus lividus) exhibit a consistent depth-dependent partitioning pattern on rocky reefs of the Canarian Archipelago (eastern Atlantic). Hydrodynamic experiments were carried out to quantify the resistance to flow-induced dislodgement in these three species. We tested the model that different morphology can result in habitat partitioning among these sea urchins. Abundances of D. antillarum increased with depth. In contrast, A. lixula and P. lividus showed the opposite zonation pattern, coexisting in high abundances in the shallowest depths (<5 m), and occurring in low densities in the deepest part of reefs (>7 m). Both A. lixula and P. lividus had greater adhesion-surface to body-height ratios than D. antillarum. Similarly, A. lixula and P. lividus showed a greater ability to resist flow-induced dislodgement compared with D. antillarum. The mean “velocity of dislodgement” was 300% and 50% greater for A. lixula and P. lividus, respectively, relative to D. antillarum, for any particular size. As a result, A. lixula and P. lividus are better fitted to life in high-flow environments than D. antillarum. We conclude that the risk of dislodgement by water motion likely play a relevant role in the vertical distribution patterns of these sea urchins in the eastern Atlantic.     

Kinematic structure and mesoscale variability of the rim current near the coast of Crimea (according to the data of instrumental measurements in September 2008)

By using the results of processing of the instrumental data with high space resolution obtained in September 2008, we analyze the structure of the Rim Current in the upper 100-m layer near the coast of Crimea. We determine the statistical characteristics of the mesoscale fluctuations of currents according to the data of 1165 vertical probes. It is shown that the kinetic energy of intense mesoscale perturbations observed in the vicinity of the Rim Current is of the same order of magnitude as the kinetic energy of the mean current.     

The effect of the dominant polychaete Scolelepis squamata on nematode colonisation in sandy beach sediments: An experimental approach

The effect of an abundant sandy beach polychaete, Scolelepis squamata, on the colonisation of defaunated sediments by marine nematodes indicates that sandy beach fauna can be partially controlled by biological interactions within and across size groups. Experimental cores, equipped with windows allowing infaunal colonisation, were filled with defaunated sandy beach sediment containing two different treatments with and without S. squamata. These cores were inserted into microcosms filled with sediment with indigenous meiofauna collected from the field. The treatments were incubated in the laboratory at ambient temperature and salinity for 2, 7, 14 and 21 days, in order to follow the colonisation process of the defaunated sediments by the indigenous nematode fauna over time. Nematodes initially colonised both treatments, with abundances of up to 10% of the densities in the control; after 2 weeks, nematode densities in the cores without S. squamata surpassed the control densities. Nematode assemblages in both treatments were not species rich, and also differed in composition from the natural assemblages. The most successful colonising species, Enoplolaimus litoralis, was rare in the surrounding sediment, suggesting that colonisation was determined by species-specific characteristics such as body size, motility and feeding strategy. Initially the presence of macrofauna did not affect the nematode community composition, but after 2 weeks of the experiment, the presence of the polychaete seemed to facilitate the earlier establishment of non-opportunistic species.     

Seasonal variation of histopathological and histochemical markers of PAH exposure in blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.)

The aim of this work was to study seasonal variation of histopathological and histochemical markers in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) exposed to pyrogenic PAH contaminants. Mussels were collected in January, June, September and October from a sampling site in the vicinity of the discharge from an aluminium smelter and from a clean reference site. Histopathological analysis was carried out on the digestive gland (DG) and the gonads, lipofuscin and neutral lipids were analysed in the DG. Clear responses in lipofuscin and neutral lipids were detected in the DG of mussels collected from the polluted site at some sampling times. Moreover, these mussels presented atrophy in digestive tubules and haemocytic aggregates in the gonad and DG. However, in all parameters studied, the magnitude of the response showed clear seasonal variation.     

Filter-based differential hygroscopicity analyzer of aerosol particles

We describe a new differential analyzer implementing a technique for studying the hygroscopic properties of filter-precipitated aerosol particles based on a katharometric measurement of the amount of water vapor absorbed by an aerosol sample. The instrument has been tested on particles of sodium chloride and ammonium sulphate. A comparison of our data with the results of analogous measurements described in literature shows that the suggested technique has several important advantages, i.e., (1) higher sensitivity, which allows the measurement of particles of no more than 0.1 mg in mass; (2) a wide range of relative humidity variations (up to 99% at an accuracy of 0.06% RH at the upper-range value); (3) the absence of intermediate measurement steps connected with the need to account for water absorption by elements of a measurement system; and (4) the absence of restrictions to the size and shape of particles studied. In addition, the measurement technique rules out the possibility of errors caused by the kinetic effects of mass transport in the aerosol-water vapor system.     

Recent advances in offshore geotechnics for deep water oil and gas developments

The paper presents an overview of recent developments in geotechnical analysis and design associated with oil and gas developments in deep water. Typically the seabed in deep water comprises soft, lightly overconsolidated, fine grained sediments, which must support a variety of infrastructure placed on the seabed or anchored to it. A particular challenge is often the mobility of the infrastructure either during installation or during operation, and the consequent disturbance and healing of the seabed soil, leading to changes in seabed topography and strength. Novel aspects of geotechnical engineering for offshore facilities in these conditions are reviewed, including: new equipment and techniques to characterise the seabed; yield function approaches to evaluate the capacity of shallow skirted foundations; novel anchoring systems for moored floating facilities; pipeline and steel catenary riser interaction with the seabed; and submarine slides and their impact on infrastructure. Example results from sophisticated physical and numerical modelling are presented.     

A set of canonical problems in sloshing. Part 0: Experimental setup and data processing

In a series of attempts to research and document relevant sloshing type phenomena, a series of experiments have been conducted. The aim of this paper is to describe the setup and data processing of such experiments. A sloshing tank is subjected to angular motion. As a result pressure registers are obtained at several locations, together with the motion data, torque and a collection of image and video information. The experimental rig and the data acquisition systems are described. Useful information for experimental sloshing research practitioners is provided. This information is related to the liquids used in the experiments, the dying techniques, tank building processes, synchronization of acquisition systems, etc. A new procedure for reconstructing experimental data, that takes into account experimental uncertainties, is presented. This procedure is based on a least squares spline approximation of the data. Based on a deterministic approach to the first sloshing wave impact event in a sloshing experiment, an uncertainty analysis procedure of the associated first pressure peak value is described.