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.     

Late Quaternary Seismic Stratigraphy of the Eastern Bengal Shelf

An ultra-high-resolution seismic study of the eastern Bengal Shelf with the parametric narrow-beam echosounder Parasound allows the interpretation of late Quaternary depositional patterns in terms of seismic stratigraphy. Accommodation space was still present on the outer shelf during the last lowstand, where a prograding delta developed in the western survey area. Oolitic beach ridges were later formed on top of this lowstand delta. Farther east, large parts of the shelf were exposed to subaerial erosion and a river system extended seaward across the area. A subaqueous highstand delta prograded southwards following the maximum transgression about 7,000 years ago. Its foreset beds exhibit acoustic voids very likely generated by sediment liquefaction, possibly caused by episodic energetic events such as major cyclones and/or earthquakes. Bottomset sediments extend seaward close to the shelf break in the west, whereas no Holocene sediments cover the outer shelf in the east.     

Tectonic setting of the Azores Plateau deduced from a OBS survey

The studies of Azores seismicity generally show shocks with either normal faulting or right-lateral strike-slip along the ESE direction, compatible with a eastward relative motion of the Eurasian (EU) relative to the African (AF) plate. However, the 1 January 1980 earthquake was interpreted as a clear left-lateral strike-slip shock along the N150E direction. This pattern is difficult to explain in terms of the relative motion between the EU, AF and North American (NA) plates: all available models for the present day movement of this triple junction fail to explain the regional variability in the stress conditions of the area. Here we present data from a 34-day long Ocean Bottom Seismograph array deployment. We show that the seismicity is distributed along a band aligned with the island chain itself, and is concentrated along several faults with an approximate N150E strike, cutting the Azores plateau in all the area covered by the OBS network. The combination of these new results with other geophysical data permits us to conclude that the tectonic setting of the Azores plateau is characterised by the existence of two sets of faults, in the N120E and N150E directions, defining several crustal blocks, whose relative motion accommodates the interaction of the three megaplates. The deformation of these tectonic blocks is probably driven by the shear between the EU and AF plates. This model explains well the spatial variability of the stress conditions in the Azores domain, the combination of dextral and sinistral strike slip mechanisms and the observed seismotectonics of the Azores islands.     

Distribution of nonlinear wave crests

The distribution of nonlinear wave crests is examined on the basis of a theoretical probability density previously given elsewhere (J. Eng. Mech. 120 (1994) 1009). Certain errors contained in the original theoretical density are corrected, and the corresponding exceedance distribution is derived. The resulting theoretical forms of the probability density and exceedance distribution are then slightly simplified and compared with nonlinear wave data gathered under hurricane conditions. The results indicate that the proposed theoretical forms describe the observed distributions of large wave crests better than the Rayleigh law. However, the quantitative accuracy of the predictions is somewhat poor, as is typical of approximate theories based on Gram–Charlier-type expansions.     

High-resolution sediment echosounding off Peru: Late Quaternary depositional sequences and sedimentary structures of a current-dominated shelf

About 6000 km of both bathymetric and high-resolution acoustic profiles were acquired on the shelf and upper slope offshore Peru between 9° S and 14° S. Two new sediment echosounder systems – SEL-96 and SES-2000DS – provided details of the sedimentary structures of the Quaternary sequences within the Sechura-Salaverry, Huacho and Pisco Basins. To a great extent, the poleward undercurrent determines the distribution of sediments. The undercurrent has generated numerous erosional unconformities, it has winnowed hardgrounds and has created mudwaves common between 250 m and 400 m water depth. Distinct subbottom reflectors within sedimentary units represent hiatuses due to periods of intensified winnowing or non-deposition. Erosional unconformities usually marked by pronounced reflectors suggest shifts of the undercurrent system related to climatic changes and eustatic variations of sea level. On a larger scale, the stacked prograding depositional sequences reflect the sea-level cycles of the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. Based on the stratigraphy of our piston cores and that of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 680, the depositional sequences limited by extended unconformities were assigned to oxygen isotope stages 1 to 7. Other sedimentary structures are small straight channels that were conduits for downslope sediment transport. Deformed sediments associated with synsedimentary normal faults result from creep movements indicating beginning slope failure.     

Induction of heat shock protein (hsp)60 in Isochrysis galbana exposed to sublethal preparations of dispersant and Prudhoe Bay crude oil

Adaptation to sublethal exposure to crude oil by phytoplankton is poorly understood. Use of chemical dispersants for oil spill remediation increases petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in water, while exposing marine organisms to potentially toxic concentrations of dispersant. Heat shock proteins (hsps) have been found to serve as an adaptive and protective mechanism against environmental stresses. The objective of this project was to examine the induction of hsps in Isochrysis galbana, a golden-brown algae, following exposure to the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of Prudhoe Bay crude oil (PBCO) and PBCO chemically dispersed with Corexit 9527® (dispersed oil: DO). Initial experiments using ³⁵S-labeled amino acids and 2-dimensional electrophoresis with subsequent western blotting identified and confirmed hsp60, a member of the chaperonin family of stress proteins, as being efficiently induced by heat shock in this species. One-dimensional SDS PAGE and western blotting, with hsp60 antibodies and chemiluminesence detection, were used to quantitate hsp60 following exposure to a range of environmental temperatures and concentrations of WAF and DO preparations. I. galbana cultured in 22 parts per thousand (‰) salinity showed a statistically significant increase (p<0.05) in hsp60 after exposure to 25, 30, and 35°C for 1 h compared to controls (20°C), while 34‰ cultures showed no significant increase in hsp60 with increasing temperature. Cultures (22 and 34‰) exposed to varying doses of WAF and DO exhibited statistically significant (p<0.05) increases in levels of hsp60 in all cases. A dose-related response was observed in all exposures (r²≥0.90) with the exception of 34‰ WAF. In independent exposures, a dose-related hsp60 response to naphthalene, a relatively abundant water-soluble aromatic hydrocarbon, was observed in both 22 and 34‰ cultures. Results of this study are consistent with previous studies in other species documenting increases in hsp60 levels with exposure to xenobiotics. Further studies are investigating the protective function of hsp60 against the toxic effects of exposure to WAF and DO preparations.     

Development of two novel CYP-antibodies and their use in a PCB exposure experiment with Mytilus edulis

In an attempt to learn more about the cytochrome P450 (CYP) system of mussels, we used protein databases and alignment software to extract highly conserved CYP sequences. From these alignments synthetic peptides were produced and used for rabbit immunisation, which yielded polyclonal antibodies against the CYP families 2 and 4. The antibodies were evaluated with Western Blot and ELISA assays, using digestive gland microsomal samples from the mussel Mytilus edulis. Western Blots revealed immunoreactions for both antibodies. The anti-CYP2 sequence rendered one major immunopositive protein of approximately 49 kDa size, and weak signals for proteins of approximately 41 and 56 kDa size. The anti-CYP4 sequence rendered two major bands of approximately 56 and 59 kDa size, and also a weak immunoreaction with a protein of approximately 43 kDa size. ELISA rendered only weak signals even with a 1:50 dilution of IgG-purified serum. A 10-day exposure to Aroclor 1254 did not appear to affect any of the immunopositive proteins, while total PCBs in soft bodies increased from 14-40 ng/g DW in controls to 373-638 ng/g DW in exposed mussels.     

Measurement of DNA single-strand breaks in gill and hemolymph cells of mussels, Mytilus sp., collected on the French Atlantic Coast

DNA single-strand breaks were measured by the comet assay in both gill and hemolymph cells of mussels collected in 3 sampling areas of the French coast (Pointe du Castelli, Pen Bron and Saint-Nazaire Harbour). Whole mussel tissue samples were also collected for the chemical determination of PAH, PCB and heavy metal concentrations. In mussel, a higher level of DNA strand breaks was measured in gill than in hemolymph cells (p < 0.01). Despite a factor of contamination from 2 to 3 between sites, no difference in the extent of mussel DNA strand breaks was shown between sampling locations (p > 0.05), questioning the sensitivity of the assays used in biomonitoring studies.