Increasing imposex in populations of Bolinus brandaris (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in the northwestern Mediterranean.

The muricid gastropod Bolinus brandaris exhibited imposex, a phenomenon linked to the use of organotin biocides. Several stages of imposex development (1-5) could be distinguished and were documented with SEM-photographs for the first time in this species. Additional alterations of the genital tract in females (blocked vulva preventing copulation and deposition of egg capsules) and males (excrecences on the penis and vas deferens) were shown. Imposex intensity on the Catalan coast was very high. The frequency of imposex off Barcelona and Vilanova i la Geltrú was 100%, with all females showing stage 4. Imposex frequency off Sant Carles de la Ràpita was 99.7% and the VDS index scored 3.9. Despite regulations of TBT-containing antifouling paints in Spain since 1990, the present study revealed that frequency and intensity of imposex have increased on the Catalan coast, at least since 1997. However, at present, imposex does not apparently affect the population dynamics of B. brandaris in the studied area, since no serious consequences on female reproduction (only one case of female sterilization) were detected. Gonadal activity and oogenesis were not suppressed or supplanted by spermatogenesis. Sex ratios were not male-biased. Possible sources of organotin biocides are examined.     

Sediment–water interactions of natural oestrogens under estuarine conditions

The natural human female hormones oestrone and 17β-oestradiol have been implicated in the disruption of endocrine systems in some wildlife adjacent to sewage effluents. The sorption behaviour of these two compounds under estuarine conditions was studied by spiking either 2.55 μg of oestrone or 2.65 μg of 17β-oestradiol in kinetic experiments. In equilibrium experiments, 3 ng of oestrone or 3.2 ng of 17β-oestradiol was added in each of the centrifuge tubes. Sorption onto sediment particles was relatively slow, with sorption equilibrium being reached in about 70 and 170 h for oestrone and 17β-oestradiol, respectively. The effects of a variety of environmental parameters on sorption were studied including salinity, sediment concentration (SC), the presence of a third phase, particle size and, also, surfactant concentrations. Results show that although salinity did not induce any statistically significant effect on the sorption of 17β-oestradiol, it did statistically enhance the sorption of oestrone, and a salting constant of 0.3 l mol⁻¹ was derived. The partition coefficient for both compounds decreased with increasing sediment concentration, a phenomenon that has been widely reported and attributed to the presence of colloids (which could enhance dissolved concentrations). In this paper, the true partition coefficients for sediment particles (K_p^true) and colloidal particles (K_c^true) have been calculated, and a K_p^true value of 141 and 102 ml g⁻¹ was obtained for oestrone and 17β-oestradiol, respectively. In addition, K_c^true values for oestrone (222×10² ml g⁻¹) and 17β-oestradiol (135×10² ml g⁻¹) were two orders of magnitude higher than their respective K_p^true values, suggesting that the colloidal particles are significantly stronger sorbents for natural oestrogens than sediment particles. Particles of different sizes were found to have different partition coefficients due to the strong relationships between partition coefficients for the two compounds and particulate organic carbon (POC) contents and specific surface areas (SSAs). The presence of a surfactant was shown to reduce the partition coefficients for the two compounds, although its concentrations being used were higher than those normally found in the natural environment.     

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.     

Onshore Neogene stratigraphy in the North of the Alboran Sea (Betic Internal Zones): Paleogeographic implications

The Neogene is the period in which the Betic Cordillera, the Rif, and the Alboran Sea acquired their present configuration. The Neogene sediments of the Betic Internal Zones (located directly to the North of the Alboran Sea) show the effects of important periods of deformation. Deposition was clearly controlled by tectonics. Therefore the generation, evolution, and total or partial destruction of basins and the formation of new, often superimposed, basins are common phenomena, according to the locations of the basins in the Betic Cordillera and to the different geodynamic situations.     

Bacterioplankton growth and production at the Louisiana hydrocarbon seeps

The growth rate and potential production of bacterioplankton in cold hydrocarbon seeps located along the Louisiana coast were determined using a pulse-labeling technique. Surprisingly, community doubling times are on the order of 1.1 h, which compares to laboratory-grown cultures. We also found that there are differences in growth rates on relatively small geographic scales, suggesting the influence of site-specific geological features (e.g., gas hydrate mounds). Proceeding downslope to deeper waters, methane-oxidizing bacteria appeared to play a more significant role in community productivity. These preliminary experiments indicated, quite unexpectedly, that water column microbes are growing at a more rapid rate than in any other marine system so far studied and that methane may serve as a primary nutrient (carbon) source in these seep-associated microbial assemblages.