Since the discovery of hydrothermal vents in the late 1970s, deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields have attracted great attention as biological hotspots. However, compared with other ocean ridges, the structure and function of microbial communities inhabiting vent fields in the Central Indian ridge (CIR) remain understudied. Here, we provide for the first time 16S rRNA gene-based comparative metagenomic analysis of the sediment-associated microbial communities from three newly discovered vent fields in the CIR. Sediment samples collected in the Invent B, Invent E and Onnuri vent fields varied in geochemical properties, elemental concentrations and associated microbial communities. Proteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria) was the dominant phylum in Invent B and Onnuri vent fields. In contrast, Invent E mainly consisted of Chloroflexi and Euryarchaeota. Predicted functional profiling revealed that the microbial communities in the three vents are dominated by chemoheterotrophic functions. In addition, microbial communities capable of respiration of sulfur compounds, nitrification, nitrite oxidation, methylotrophy, and methanotropy were found to be the main chemolithoautotrophs. Compared to other vent fields, Invent E showed a predominance of archaeal methanogens suggesting it exhibits slightly different geochemistry. Multivariate analysis indicated that the biogeochemical and trace metal differences are reflected in the sediment microbial compositions of the three vent fields. This study expands our current understanding of the microbial community structure and potential ecological functions of the newly discovered hydrothermal vent fields in the CIR.
The design of submarines has continually evolved to improve survivability. Explosions may induce local damage as well as global collapse to a submarine. Therefore, it is important to realistically estimate the possible damage conditions due to underwater explosions in the design stage. The present study applied the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) technique, a fluid–structure interaction approach, to simulate an underwater explosion and investigate the survival capability of a damaged submarine liquefied oxygen tank. The Lagrangian–Eulerian coupling algorithm, the equations of state for explosives and seawater, and the simple calculation method for explosive loading were also reviewed. It is shown that underwater explosion analysis using the ALE technique can accurately evaluate structural damage after attack. This procedure could be applied quantitatively to real structural design. 相似文献
The green-lipped mussels Perna viridis were exposed to <500 μm suspended solids (SS) with concentrations of 0 (control), 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg/L for 14 days, followed by transferring to clean, filtered seawater for 28 days. Results of scanning microscopy showed significantly higher damages to the cilia on the frontal surface of the gill filaments than that on the abfrontal surface in both demibranchs. Percent ciliary depletion varied with SS concentrations and time. No sign of recovery of the gill filaments was observed after the mussels were transferred to clean seawater. In a second experiment, mussels were exposed to SS with size range from <63, >125–<250 and >250–<500 μm at 600 mg/L, together with a control (0 mg/L) for 14 days, followed by transferring to clean, filtered seawater for 28 days. Results of scanning microscopy showed significant ciliary damages in both the ascending and descending lamellae under the three particle size groups as compared with the control. Percent depletion of frontal cilia was most serious for the >250–<500 μm size group and least for the <63 μm size group. However, percent depletion of abfrontal cilia was most serious for the >125–<250 μm size group and least for the <63 μm size group. No recovery of ciliary damages was observed. The effects of particle size of suspended sediments on the morphological damages of gill filaments in the green-lipped mussels were discussed. 相似文献
A wide range of biological responses have been used to identify exposure to contaminants, monitor spatial and temporal changes in contamination levels, provide early warning of environmental deterioration and indicate occurrences of adverse ecological consequences. To be useful in environmental monitoring, a biological response must reflect the environmental stress over time in a quantitative way. We here argue that the time required for initial induction, maximum induction, adaptation and recovery of these stress responses must first be fully understood and considered before they can be used in environmental monitoring, or else erroneous conclusions (both false-negative and false-positive) may be drawn when interpreting results. In this study, data on initial induction, maximum induction, adaptation and recovery of stress responses at various biological hierarchies (i.e., molecular, biochemical, physiological, behavioral, cytological, population and community responses) upon exposure to environmentally relevant levels of contaminants (i.e., metals, oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorines, organophosphates, endocrine disruptors) were extracted from 922 papers in the biomarker literature and analyzed. Statistical analyses showed that: (a) many stress responses may decline with time after induction (i.e., adaptation), even if the level of stress remains constant; (b) times for maximum induction and recovery of biochemical responses are positively related; (c) there is no evidence to support the general belief that time for induction of responses at a lower biological hierarchy (i.e., molecular responses and biochemical responses) is shorter than that at higher hierarchy (i.e., physiological, cytological and behavioral responses), although longer recovery time is found for population and community responses; (d) there are significant differences in times required for induction and adaptation of biological responses caused by different types of contaminants; (e) times required for initial and maximum induction of physiological responses in fish are significantly longer than those in crustaceans; and (f) there is a paucity of data on adaptation and recovery of responses, especially those at population and community levels. The above analyses highlight: (1) the limitations and possible erroneous conclusions in the present use of biomarkers in biomonitoring programs, (2) the importance of understanding the details of temporal changes of biological responses before employing them in environmental management, and (3) the suitability of using specific animal groups as bioindicator species. 相似文献
About 30% of the chromite grains of variable sizes in a chromitite seam at the base of the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex
on the farm Vlakfontein contain abundant composite mineral inclusions. The inclusions are polygonal to circular with radial
cracks that protrude into the enclosing chromite. They vary from a few microns to several millimeters in diameter and are
concentrated in the cores and mantles of chromite crystals. Electron backscattered patterns indicate that the host chromites
are single crystals and not amalgamations of multiple grains. Na-phlogopite and orthopyroxene are most abundant in the inclusions.
Edenitic hornblende, K-phlogopite, oligoclase and quartz are less abundant. Cl-rich apatite, rutile, zircon and chalcopyrite
are present at trace levels. Na-phlogopite is unique to the inclusions; it has not been found elsewhere in the Bushveld Complex.
Other minerals in the inclusions are also present in the matrix of the chromitite seam, but their compositions are different.
The Mg/(Mg+Fe2+) ratios of orthopyroxene in the inclusions are slightly higher than those of orthopyroxene in the matrix. K-phlogopite in
the inclusions contains more Na than in the matrix. The average compositions of the inclusions are characterized by high MgO
(26 wt%), Na2O (2.4 wt%) and H2O (2.6 wt%), and low CaO (1.1 wt%) and FeO (4.4 wt%). The δ18O value of the trapped melt, estimated by analysis of inclusion-rich and inclusion-poor chromites, is ∼7‰. This value is consistent
with the previous estimates for the Bushveld magma and with the δ18O values of silicate minerals throughout the reef. The textural features and peculiar chemical compositions are consistent
with entrapment of orthopyroxene with variable amounts of volatile-rich melts during chromite crystallization. The volatile-rich
melts are thought to have resulted from variable degrees of mixing between the magma on the floor of the chamber and Na-K-rich
fluids expelled from the underlying crystal pile. The addition of fluid to the magma is thought to have caused dissolution
of orthpyroxene, leaving the system saturated only in chromite. Both oxygen and hydrogen isotopic values are consistent with
the involvement of a magmatic fluid in the process of fluid addition and orthopyroxene dissolution. Most of the Cr and Al
in the inclusions was contributed through wall dissolution of the host chromite. Dissolution of minor rutile trapped along
with orthopyroxene provided most of the Ti in the inclusions. The Na- and K-rich hydrous silicate minerals in the inclusions
were formed during cooling by reaction between pyroxene and the trapped volatile-rich melts. 相似文献
Daily changes in phytoplankton abundance and species composition were monitored from July to September 2003 (n=47) to understand
which factors control the abundance at a station in Jangmok Bay. During the study, the phytoplankton community was mainly
composed of small cell diatoms and dinoflagellates, and the dominant genera wereChaetoceros,Nitzschia, Skeletonema andThalassionema. Phytoplankton abundance varied significantly from 6.40x104 to 1.22x107 cells/l. The initially high level of phytoplankton abundance was dominated by diatoms, but replacement by dinoflagellates
started when the N/P ratio decreased to < 5.0. On the basis of the N/P and Si/N ratios, the sampling period could be divided
into two: an inorganic silicate limitation period (ISLP, 14th July-12th of August) and an inorganic nitrogen limitation period (INLP, 13th of August - the end of the study). Phosphate might not limit the growth of phytoplankton assemblages in the bay during the
study period. This study suggests that phytoplankton abundance and species composition might be affected by the concentrations
of inorganic nutrients (N and Si), and provides baseline information for further studies on plankton dynamics in Jangmok Bay. 相似文献
The objectives of this study were to distinguish fossil specimens of Meretrix (Bivalvia, Veneridae) using discriminant score and multivariate analysis, and to examine temporal changes in the geographical distributions of M. lusoria and M. petechialis in Japan and South Korea. Fossil shells of Meretrix were collected from Miyagi, Fukui, Aichi and Kumamoto in Japan, and Gimhae, Seosan, Siheung and Ganghwa-do in South Korea. The outside of the right valve was photographed with a digital camera, and ten characteristics of the shell morphology, such as shell height and shell length, were measured using image analysis software and a digital slide caliper. The discriminant score and multivariate analysis of the shell morphology identified all of the examined fossils as M. lusoria, while living individuals collected from the western coast of South Korea were identified as M. petechialis. These results suggest that the fossil shells excavated from the western coast of South Korea are a different species from the living individuals collected from the same areas. Radioactive carbon isotopic results revealed that the ages of the four fossil shells collected from tidal flats in Ganghwa-do ranged between 3,270 ± 30 and 1,830 ± 30 Cal BP. These results suggest that M. lusoria inhabited the western coast of South Korea until at least 2,000 years ago, but was replaced by M. petechialis during the last 2,000 years. Therefore, we propose that either M. petechialis spats were introduced artificially, or planktonic larvae migrated naturally from China to the western coast of South Korea during the last 2,000 years. 相似文献