Bioaccumulation of heavy metals by bivalves from Limski Kanal (North Adriatic Sea). II. Copper distribution between oysters, Ostrea edulis, and ambient water

Accumulation of copper was studied between June 1979 and June 1980 in the oyster Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, cultivated in the Limski Kanal, on the Istria Peninsula (Yugoslavia).The copper distribution in different organs of oysters of the same age was compared with concentrations of copper existing in different physicochemical forms in ambient sea water, i.e., dissolved Cu in labile complexes determined at the natural pH of 8; ‘total’ dissolved Cu determined after acidification to pH 2; and Cu bound to suspended particles with a diameter above 0.45 μm. Copper concentrations in the water were determined by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) and in analyses of biotic material, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was applied.Significant correlations have been found between copper complexed with dissolved organic ligands and its concentration in the soft part of the oyster. Copper contents increase gradually with the weight of the organs until enhanced gametogenetic activity of the oysters occurs. Thereafter the correlation factor between copper contents and the size of body parts varied significantly with the season.     

Porphyry Molybdenum Prospectivity in the Zhongdian Arc,SW China: Use of Singularity and Factor Analyses for Resource Assessment

Natural Resources Research - The Zhongdian arc is an important mineral province in southwest China that hosts significant Cu- and Mo-rich ore deposits. These are mainly present as Late Triassic...     

Geodynamics of the eastern Yilgarn Craton

Over the last decade there have been significant advances in our understanding of the stratigraphy, magmatism, deformation, metamorphism and timing of mineralisation, in the eastern Yilgarn Craton (EYC) of Western Australia. The integration of these disciplines has enabled a holistic review of the tectonic history of the EYC which favours a paraautochthonous tectonic model.     

Simulation of the quasi-biennial oscillations of the zonal wind in the equatorial stratosphere: Part II. Atmospheric general circulation models

The problem of simulating quasi-biennial oscillations (QBOs) of zonal velocity in the equatorial stratosphere in atmospheric general circulation models is considered. In accordance with the results from Part I of this study on the basis of the models developed at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INM RAS), the possibility of implementing (in these models) mechanisms of QBO excitation through both the interaction of planetary waves with the mean flow and breaking of short gravity waves is investigated. A new high-resolution 2° × 2.5° × 80 version of the INM RAS model is designed, a climate simulation with the two 2° × 2.5° × 39 and 2° × 2.5° × 80 versions of the INM RAS model is briefly described, results of spectral analysis of equatorial wave activity are presented, and the QBO formation processes in these models are considered in detail. For the new 2° × 2.5° × 80 model, realistic QBOs of zonal wind are obtained as the result of the action of both mechanisms.     

Population genetic diversity and structure of a dominant tropical seagrass,Cymodocea rotundata,in the Western Pacific region

Cymodocea rotundata is an ecologically important tropical pioneer seagrass species distributed in the Indo‐Pacific region. The population genetic diversity and structure of this species were analysed at 46 sites spanning the Philippines, Ryukyu Islands (northern limit) and Hainan Island, by using microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Analyses revealed the persistence of C. rotundata likely relies on local population dynamics and fitness influenced by environmental gradients, with sexual reproduction prevalent in the Philippines while the Ryukyu and Hainan populations were predominantly established by clonal spread. Analysis of molecular variance showed significant genetic differentiation (P < 0.001) among three geographic regions: the Philippines, Ryukyu and Hainan. Furthermore, the mean fixation index value was very high (F_ST = 0.36), indicating poor dispersal potential or limited gene flow. Allelic richness and heterozygosity of C. rotundata was comparable in the Philippines and Ryukyu Islands populations. More private alleles were found in the Philippines and excess heterozygotes in the Ryukyu Islands. STRUCTURE analysis revealed that the Ryukyu and Hainan populations were mosaics of admixed alleles of individuals from the Philippines. An assignment test suggested that recruitment occurs from the Northeast Philippines to Ryukyu Islands. These results suggest that the Philippine populations are tropical seagrass hotspots and perhaps the origin of the populations in the Ryukyu and Hainan Islands. This scenario is most likely driven by the Kuroshio Current and island integration events during plate tectonic activities. The Philippine Archipelago is considered of high importance for conservation objectives and management plan of seagrasses. Likewise, the Ryukyu Islands are also important in terms of conserving regional diversity because locally adapted genotypes have important evolutionary potential in the face of environmental change.     

Charged compact objects in the linear regime

Astrophysical compact stars provide a natural laboratory for testing theoretical models which are otherwise difficult to prove from an experimental setup. In our present work we analyse an exact solution to the Einstein-Maxwell system for a charged anisotropic compact body in the linear regime. The charged parameter may be set to zero which gives us the case of neutral solutions. We have tuned the model parameters for the uncharged case so as to match with recent updated mass-radius estimates for five different compact objects. Then we make a systematic study of the effect of charge for the different parameter set that fits the observed stars. The effect of charge is clearly illustrated in the increase of mass. We show that the physical quantities for the objects PSR J1614-2230, PSR J1903+327, Vela X-1, SMC X-1, Cen X-3 are well behaved.     

Genetic structure of the tall sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis in NW Scottish sea lochs

The tall sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis has a patchy distribution around the UK, being found in sheltered waters below 20 m depth on the northwest coast of Scotland and Ireland. The limited distribution and sensitivity to bottom fishing activities make F. quadrangularis vulnerable to reduction in population numbers that may lead to genetic isolation and reduced diversity. Because of this vulnerability and low resilience to physical disturbance, the tall sea pen is recognised as a Species of Principle Importance under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act, 2006, UK. ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/16/contents ) and is also on the Biodiversity Action Plan list of Priority Species for the UK. In the Mediterranean it is recognised as a sensitive and essential fish habitat because it forms habitat for several commercially important crustaceans. The aim of this study was to understand the current state of the genetic structure and gene flow of F. quadrangularis in areas of NW Scotland. We developed 10 microsatellite markers and used them to genotype 176 samples from four populations. Overall, our results suggest that there is high genetic diversity and high gene flow between colonies of F. quadrangularis in and among locations in Loch Linnhe and Loch Duich. As a result of the high rates of gene flow, genetic differentiation between sites was low. This may provide resilience to human impacts if distant populations have a high connectivity. However, care must be taken, as small but significant isolation by distance was found between the most geographically distant sites and only a small part of the species range was examined in this study. The genetic tools developed here will provide a foundation for wider studies of this vulnerable species.     

Contaminant concentrations and toxicity of sea-surface microlayer near Los Angeles, California

Sea-surface microlayer samples were collected from six nearshore areas receiving different amounts of anthropogenic inputs. The samples were analyzed for selected trace metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The relative toxicities of the samples were determined with fish embryo bioassays.Contaminant concentrations generally increased from offshore to the inshore stations. Contaminant concentrations were several orders of magnitude higher in microlayer samples from the highly industrialized Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors compared to samples from a site 15km offshore. Microlayer samples from the inshore stations were significantly more toxic, and induced significantly more developmental abnormalities and chromosome aberrations, than samples from the offshore stations.