Photoadaptation of carboxylating enzymes and photosynthesis during a spring bloom

Properties of the light saturation curve of photosynthesis and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPC) activity are shown to change qualitatively in a natural population of marine phytoplankton during a spring bloom. Evidence is presented to show that these changes constitute photoadapative responses to increasing irradiance. As irradiance increased during the bloom, both the level of light-saturated photosynthesis (P_m) and the initial slope of the light saturation curve (α = photosynthetic efficiency) increased whether those parameters were normalized to chlorophyll a concentration (P_m^b, α^b) or to cell numbers (P_m^c, α^c). The magnitudes of these changes were such that I_k (= P_m/α, the photoadaptation parameter) did not change, but I_m, the light intensity at which photosynthesis becomes saturated, increased. RuBPC activity, both chlorophyll a (RuBPC^b) and cell number normalized (RuBPC^c), also increased during the bloom. We suggest that these adaptations were achieved by simultaneously increasing the number of photosynthetic units, proportionately decreasing the photosynthetic unit size, and increasing both the concentrations of the enzymes of the dark reactions and possibly also of photosynthetic electron transport components.We also observed diminished levels of photoinhibition in the high light adapted cells late in the bloom and have suggested that this was a consequence of the same suite of physiological changes.In situ carbon fixation per cell increased during the bloom whereas no change occurred in this parameter when normalized to chlorophyll a concentration. Although these photoadaptive responses thus permitted carbon to be fixed in situ more rapidly per cell, at a constant efficiency with respect to investment of energy in the photosynthetic apparatus, they did not result in a change in growth rate. Based on consideratios of the role of time scale in physiological adaptation, however, it is suggested that the observed alterations in photosynthesis with increasing irradiance might permit a cell to more rapidly fill an energy quota for division, possibly an advantage in a mixing environment in which energy is patchily distributed, both spatially and temporalyy.Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity when normalized to chlorophyll a (PEPC^b) did not change during the bloom while chlorophyll a normalized dark carbon fixation decreased sharply and was quantitatively small compared to PEPC^b. On this basis and considering that RuBPC^b increased during the bloom, it is suggested that, although PEPC may be involved in dark carbon fixation, its most important quantitative role is probably an indirect one in light dependent photosynthesis.We have also considered the relevance of laboratory results on photoadaptation to interpretations of field studies and have suggested that batch culture studies must be treated with caution but that turbidistat and semi-continuous methods provide reasonable simulations of natural conditions.     

A hydrodynamic model of a submerged lenticular wave energy device

The wavemaking capability and energy absorbing characteristics of a single submerged body, constrained to move horizontally in a surge mode, are examined. The body possesses both a vertical axis of symmetry and a horizontal plane of symmetry and is ‘thin’ in the sense that the body draft is small compared to the length. The behaviour of a single body subject to a constraint being placed upon the amplitude of its displacement and the properties of an array of interacting identical devices are also discussed.     

Physico-chemical and mineralogical studies on cochin marine clays

Large deposits of marine clays are encountered all along the Indian coastal belt. These clays are pleistocene to recent in origin, are considered to be young, and were deposited in a salt or brackish environment. These clays are very soft in consistency with low in-situ strength and high compressibility. The properties of these soil deposits depend mainly on the clay minerals present. In the present investigation, the mineralogical studies of some Cochin marine clays were carried out using XRD technique. The physical and chemical properties of these deposits were also reported. The test results were compared with some earlier reported works on marine clays.     

Sensitivity to stress of the estuarine bivalve Macoma balthica from areas between the Netherlands and its southern limits (Gironde)

Variation in the sensitivity to stress of Macoma balthica was measured in several French and Dutch estuaries. For adult and juvenile Macoma balthica exposed to copper under conditions of starvation, differences in mortality rate, condition, glycogen, burrowing rate and copper content were assessed. No significant differences were observed between adults and juveniles; the influence of treatment and origin was always evident. Animals from the most southern estuaries, Loire and Gironde, near to the species's southern limit of distribution, showed, in the field, the strongest deviations for the ecophysiological traits measured, and were in the experiments the most sensitive to stress.     

Spatial Distribution of Shelf- and Slope-Dwelling Fishes Collected by Bottom Longline off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Abstract. A total of 1789 fish belonging to 38 families and 73 species were collected at depths between 18 and 1102 m during 216 bottom longline operations off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, between February 1994 and December 1995. For each species the depth distribution is provided. Length-weight and depth-size relationships are reported for three shelf-dwelling species. The bigger-deeper relationship found in two of them contrasts with the bigger-shallower pattern of the deeper living trichiurid Lepidopus caudatus . In November 1997, nine additional bottom longline operations were carried out off eastern Fuerteventura at depths between 805 and 1217 m. In this area, after earlier studies in October 1995, a spawning aggregation of the morid Mora moro was encountered for the second time. The catches of 1997 revealed a strongly male-biased sex ratio. Also, the males showed a significantly lower gonadosomal index than two years earlier. These findings indicate slight interannual variations in reproductive timing and an earlier arrival of male Mora moro at the spawning grounds. Clear variations in the number of fish collected at adjacent sites possibly reflect a preference for distinct microhabitats. Preliminary evidence of local upwelling of cold water above the spawning grounds is provided by satellite imagery.     

Normal faulting vs regional subsidence and sedimentation rate

Normal faults occur in a variety of geodynamic environments, both in areas of subsidence and uplift. Normal faults may have slip rates faster or slower than regional subsidence or uplift rates. The total subsidence may be defined as the sum of the hangingwall subsidence generated by the normal fault and the regional subsidence or uplift rate. Positive total subsidence obviously increases the accommodation space (e.g., passive margins and back-arc basins), in contrast with negative total subsidence (e.g., orogens). Where the hangingwall subsidence rate is faster than the sedimentation rate in cases of both positive and negative total subsidence, the facies and thickness of the syntectonic stratigraphic package may vary from the hangingwall to the footwall. A hangingwall subsidence rate slower than sedimentation rate only results in a larger thickness of the strata growing in the hangingwall, with no facies changes and no morphological step at the surface. The isostatic footwall uplift is also proportional to the amount and density of the sediments filling the half-graben and therefore it should be more significant when the hangingwall subsidence rate is higher than sedimentation rate.     

Bacterial killing by Mytilus hemocyte monolayers as a model for investigating the signaling pathways involved in mussel immune defence

The signaling pathways involved in mussel immune defence were investigated utilizing a model of killing of Escherichia coli by Mytilus galloprovincialis hemocytes in a co-culture setting. In particular, the role played by different mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and by the production of eicosanoids were investigated utilising specific cell permeant, pharmacological enzyme inhibitors. Hemocyte pretreatment with the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 significantly reduced bacterial killing, whereas PD98059 (an inhibitor of ERK--extracellularly regulated kinase--MAPK activation) had no significant effect. Wortmannin also inhibited bacterial killing, indicating a crucial role for PI3-kinase activation in the immune response. Killing of E. coli was also reduced by inhibitors of both PLA2 and cyclooxygenase activities, indicating that eicosanoid production is involved in mediating the response to bacterial challenge. The results demonstrate that bacterial killing by mussel hemocytes is particularly sensitive to inhibitors of the key steps involved in the transduction of bacterial signals into the host cell. Moreover, these data indicate that the hemocyte bactericidal activity can be suitably utilized not only for identifying the signaling pathways involved in the response to bacterial infection, but also as a potential investigative-toxicology model to test drugs and contaminants for their effect on the overall mussel immune defence.