Detection of Vibrio (Listonella) Anguillarum Porin Homologue Proteins and Their Source Bacteria from Coastal Seawater

The molecular distribution of dissolved proteins in seawater from coastal marine environments in Uranouchi Bay, Kochi Prefecture, is first reported in this article. Occurrence of bacteria-derived dissolved proteins and their source bacteria were examined using a probe of the antibody (anti-Omp35La) against a porin outer membrane protein (Omp35La) of the fish pathogenic bacterium Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum. The electrophoretograms of dissolved proteins from coastal seawater showed a large number of discrete and individual proteins overlapped each other over a wide range of molecular masses indicating active processes in coastal environments in transferring proteins from organisms to the inanimate dissolved protein pool. Among the dissolved proteins, 37 kDa- and 18 kDa-proteins reacted with the Omp35La. In order to isolate the source bacteria of such dissolved proteins, bacteria from seawater and diseased fish were screened by colony Western blotting with anti-Omp35La. The reactive strains were further examined in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)/Western blotting to verify the presence of Omp35La homologues among the outer membrane proteins of such strains. Outer membrane proteins reacting with anti-Omp35La were detected in only 4 strains of the 129 strains that were positive in the colony Western blotting. The level of possible source bacteria of 37 kDa- and 18 kDa-dissolved proteins was suggested to be 5–6 orders of magnitude lower than the total bacterial count. The present study leads us to hypothesize that a minor portion of the bacterial assemblage is responsible for the dissolved proteins in the coastal waters.     

Distribution of ephyrae and polyps of jellyfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aurelia</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">aurita</Emphasis> (Linnaeus 1758) <Emphasis Type="Italic">sensu lato</Emphasis> in Mikawa Bay,Japan

We surveyed the distribution of colonies of polyps of Aurelia aurita sensu lato (s.l.) in Mikawa Bay, Japan. First, we surveyed the distribution of ephyrae of A. aurita s.l. at 75 stations encompassing the whole of Mikawa Bay in early 2008. A total of 37 ephyrae were sampled mostly from fishing ports. Ephyrae were most abundant around the islands located near the mouth of the bay, and decreased from the western part to the eastern part of Mikawa Bay. Next, we selected five fishing ports in Mikawa Bay where ephyrae occurred and surveyed the underside of floating piers and underwater overhangs of wharfs. We found dense colonies of polyps of A. aurita s.l. under nearly all of the floating piers at the two islands located near the mouth of the bay. Fitting a logistic regression model to the dataset showed that the percentage coverage of Aurelia polyps was significantly greater at the two islands compared with the other locations. In addition, the coverage of Aurelia polyps was greater when the coverage of other fouling organisms was in the range of 65–90%, and the coverage of Aurelia polyps was lower on floating piers with a vinyl surface and on concrete wharfs. The combined distribution of polyp colonies of A. aurita s.l. in Ise Bay and Mikawa Bay suggested that A. aurita s.l. in the two bays probably forms a single population and shoals of medusae mainly originate from protected harbors along the mouth-part of the bays.     

Long-term diatom fluxes in response to oceanographic conditions at Stations AB and SA in the central subarctic Pacific and the Bering Sea, 1990–1998

Long-term monitoring of diatom fluxes during 1990–1998 was conducted at Station AB in the Bering Sea and Station SA in the central subarctic Pacific in order to decipher the relationships between sinking diatom and the upper water mass environments. The total diatom flux at Station AB was generally twice as high as that at Station SA. The dominant species in the sinking flora was primarily Neodenticula seminae at both stations, which was a significant contributor to organic carbon flux. The flora at Station AB was represented by relatively abundant coastal taxa including Chaetoceros resting spores. These results suggest more favorable conditions for diatom production at Station AB compared with those at Station SA. The possible influences of oligotrophic and temperate water masses were discerned from the positive SST anomaly and the occurrence of a few specimens of temperate species. The cumulative annual fluxes of total diatoms at Stations AB and SA are apparently related to the variation in the mean annual depth of mixed layer. At Station SA, annual mean of total diatom flux showed a negative correlation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) Index, which suggests a significant relationship between surface water turbidity and diatom production. At Station AB, the annual change of coastal diatom flux was correlated with the PDO and the winter value of the Arctic Oscillation, which may suggest a significant influence of Alaskan Stream waters via the Aleutian Islands and intensity of surface water mixing.     

Ephemeral landform development following rapid coastal uplift in the southern orogen of Taiwan

Newly emerged landscapes above sea level are characterized by rapidly evolving geomorphic systems where the initial fluvial pattern adapts to a former submarine topography. Such an early formed fluvial system establishes drainage basins and unstable landforms that characterize high topographic asymmetry which are prone to fast removal or reorganization. Transitional landscapes might form depositional systems as lakes or ponds that subsequently are incised, captured and incorporated into drainage basins. In this study we focus on the recently emerged Hengchun Peninsula to survey its paleoenvironment evolution. Three drillings performed in the Gangkou basin with fieldwork revealed several indicators that reconstructed stages of the landscape reorganization. The major finding shows an ephemeral large lake in the central part of the Hengchun Peninsula that was drained to the Pacific c. 6000 bp . The lake belonged to an ephemeral lakeland that was created after the emergence of the peninsula. Currently, several areas as relict landforms indicate this stage of topography evolution that through high rates of incision and subsequent captures, transforms into drainage basins. Furthermore, two drillings show brackish waters at the present estuary of the Gangkou basin. These two different paleoenvironments today build one system – Gangkou catchment. Long-term uplift rates show that a hanging wall of the Hengchun Fault plays a significant role in the creation of a lakeland by tilting the peninsula's surface. The tilt impacts on asymmetrical emergence of the peninsula and catchment development. Our study shows that a new geomorphic system might create depositional ephemeral landforms (lakes) that represent phases of early topography evolution after emergence above a sea level that are subjected to instantaneous rearrangement and evolves through large-scale phases before it reaches a topographic steady-state.     

Implementation of an integrated vulnerability and risk assessment model

An integrated vulnerability and risk assessment model (IVR) is proposed. The proposed model is a composite index that assesses the relationships among four critical components, namely exposure, hazard, vulnerability and capacities and measures, and how these can be used to illustrate the integrated risk and vulnerability situation of an area. These factors are assessed using individual variables. Fifty-four variables, objectively decided upon, were used to measure the contribution of each component factor. The general characteristics of vulnerability, risk, exposure and capacities and measures are well known; however, the relative importance of each variable and their inter-relatedness, in measuring risk and vulnerabilities, as demonstrated by the IVR; and how these in turn affect the impacts of natural hazards, are still debatable. The IVR though provides a valid, reliable and sensitive tool, which can be used to further explore these relationships. Through robust testing and application, subjectivity in the selection of variables can be reduced. Moreover, through the establishment of a database for data collection and storage, objectivity (reliability) can be achieved as well as, availability of the requisite data inputs. The sensitivity of the model allows for the quick identification of strategic action, which will ultimately lead to hazard loss reduction. The values yielded for each component factor can help decision-makers in the allocation of scarce developmental funds as well as identify trends in levels of risk, vulnerability, exposures and capacities and measures as well as determine areas where mitigation strategies are needed most.     

The Crab Nebula's dynamical age as measured from its northern filamentary jet

We present a deep [O  iii ]λλ4959,5007 image of the northern filamentary jet in the Crab Nebula taken with the 8.2-m Subaru telescope. Using this image and an image taken with the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 4-m in 1988, we have computed proper motions for 35 locations in the jet. The results suggest that when compared to the main body of the remnant, the jet experienced less outward acceleration from the central pulsar's rapidly expanding synchrotron nebula. The jet's apparent expansion rate yields an undecelerated explosion date for the Crab Nebula of 1055 ± 24 CE, a date much closer to the appearance of the historic 1054 CE guest star than the 1120–1140 CE dates estimated in previous studies using filaments located within the remnant's main nebula. Our proper motion measurements suggest the jet likely formed during the 1054 supernova explosion and represents the remnant's highest velocity knots possibly associated with a suspected N–S bipolar outflow from the supernova explosion.     

Gas hydrate saturation at Site C0002, IODP Expeditions 314 and 315, in the Kumano Basin,Nankai trough

The degree of gas hydrate saturation at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site C0002 in the Kumano Basin, Nankai Trough, was estimated from logging‐while‐drilling logs and core samples obtained during IODP Expeditions 314 and 315. Sediment porosity data necessary for the calculation of saturation were obtained from both core samples and density logs. Two forms of the Archie equation (‘quick‐look’ and ‘standard’) were used to calculate gas hydrate saturation from two types of electrical resistivity log data (ring resistivity and bit resistivity), and a three‐phase Biot‐type equation was used to calculate gas hydrate saturation from P‐wave velocity log data. The gas hydrate saturation baseline calculated from both resistivity logs ranges from 0% to 35%, and that calculated from the P‐wave velocity log ranges from 0% to 30%. High levels of gas hydrate saturation (>60%) are present as spikes in the ring resistivity log and correspond to the presence of gas hydrate concentrations within sandy layers. At several depths, saturation values obtained from P‐wave velocity data are lower than those obtained from bit resistivity data; this discrepancy is related to the presence of free gas at these depths. Previous research has suggested that gas from deep levels in the Kumano Basin has migrated up‐dip towards the southern and seaward edge of the basin near Site C0002. The high saturation values and presence of free gas at site C0002 suggest that a large gas flux is flowing to the southern and seaward edge of the basin from a deeper and/or more landward part of the Kumano Basin, with the southern edge of the Kumano Basin (the location of site C0002) being the main area of fluid accumulation.     

Structurally preserved Zamites bayeri Kvaček from the Coniacian Kashima Formation (Yezo Group) of Hokkaido,Japan

A permineralized frond from the Coniacian Kashima Formation (Yezo Group) of Hokkaido, Japan, is identified as Zamites bayeri based on leaf shape, transverse orientation of stomata, papillate epidermal surface, and hollow subsurface bodies formed only on the abaxial epidermis. The specimen has an articulation at the base of the leaflet from which the leaflet was detached by means of an abscission zone. This finding suggests that Z. bayeri has compound leaves that are functionally equivalent to a twig bearing simple leaves. This functional conversion is often found in extant compound-leaved ferns or cycads growing in infertile conditions; thus Z. bayeri might have lived in a similar habitat. Leaflet articulation is also found in other Zamites species including the type species of the genus, whereas it is unknown in other bennettitalean foliar morphogenera. The rachis of the specimen has a columnar vascular bundle, which is common in bennettitalean foliage.