Bacterial community succession in response to dissolved organic matter released from live jellyfish

Jellyfish blooms have increased worldwide,and the outbreaks of jellyfish population not only affect the food web structures via voracious predation but also play an important role in the dynamics of nutrients and oxygen in planktonic food webs.However,it remains unclear whether specific carbon compounds released through j ellyfish metabolic processes have the potential to shape bacterial community composition.Therefore,in this study,we aimed to investigate the compositional succession of the bacterioplankton community in response to the dissolved organic matter(DOM)released by the live Scyphomedusae Cyanea lamarcki'i and Chrysaora hysoscella collected from Helgoland Roads of the North Sea.The bacterial community was significantly stimulated by the DOM released form live jellyfish and different dominant phylotypes were observed for these two Scyphomedusae species.Furthermore,the bacterial community structures in the different DOM sources,jellyfish-incubated media,Kabeltonne seawater,and artificial seawater(DOM-free)were significantly different,as revealed by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analy sis fingerprints.Catalyzed reporter depo sition fluorescence in situ hybridization(CARD-FISH)revealed a rapid species-specific shift in bacterial community composition.Gammaproteobacteria dominated the community instead of the Bacteroidetes community for C.lamarckii,whereas Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated the community for C.hysoscella.The significant differences in the bacterial community composition and succession indicate that the components of the DOM released by jellyfish might differ with jellyfish species.     

Constraints on paleowater dissolved loads and on catchment weathering over the past 16 ka from Sr/Sr ratios and Ca/Mg/Sr chemistry of freshwater ostracode tests in sediments of Lake Constance, Central Europe

Sr isotope and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical compositions of freshwater ostracode tests separated from a sediment core represent the last 16 ka of sedimentation in Lake Constance, Central Europe. The chemical evolution of the paleowater's dissolved load of Lake Constance was estimated by correcting the ostracode data for Ca/Mg/Sr fractionation due to biogenic calcification. Since the Late Pleistocene deglaciation, the Ca/Sr molar ratios of paleowaters increased systematically from about 100 (a near marine signature) to about 200. Ca/Mg molar ratios varied in the range of 1–25. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios indicate Late Pleistocene paleowater compositions of 0.7086–0.7091, significantly more radiogenic than present day waters (0.7085). Sr isotopes and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical data together show that weathering of Mesozoic evaporites consistently dominated the dissolved Sr load (80–90%). Carbonate and silicate weathering were less important (1–10%). Trends of Sr dissolved loads were therefore not related to Mg which was mainly mobilized by carbonate weathering. Biotite weathering was an important source of radiogenic Sr in the paleowaters. The short-term release (duration about 600–800 years) of radiogenic Sr during glacier retreat started 15.2 ka ago and was due to enhanced biotite weathering at the glacier base. Long-term release of radiogenic Sr was due to biotite weathering in glacial soils and silicate rocks, and has gradually declined since the Late Pleistocene/Holocene transition.     

Changes in ostracod assemblages and morphologies during lake‐level variations of Lago Cardiel (49°S), Patagonia,Argentina, over the last 15.6 ka

Changes in the ostracod assemblages from two sediment cores collected from Lago Cardiel in southeastern Patagonia (49°S) reflect the main regional abrupt climatic changes over the last 15.6 cal. ka BP. Shifts in species abundance and switches in dominances suggest that these were mainly driven by variable salinity. During the Late Pleistocene, Limnocythere rionegroensis was abundant and dominant, indicating waters with high salinity and prevalence of evaporative processes. Between 12.6 and 10.8 cal. ka BP, Lago Cardiel expanded markedly and reached an Early Holocene highstand of +55 m above present lake level. A major change in ostracod assemblage in which Limnocythere patagonica appears as the dominant species in parallel with the disappearance of L. rionegroensis and Eucypris aff. cecryphalium mirrored this transitional period between the cold and dry Late Pleistocene and the humid and warm Early Holocene. Over the last 4 cal. ka BP, L. rionegroensis returned to the species assemblage and Riocypris whatleyi increased its abundance pointing towards increasing salinities. The variations in size, shape and ornamentation of L. rionegroensis and R. whatleyi fossil valves were examined using geometric morphometric techniques and further compared to those of modern Patagonian sites. Limnocythere rionegroensis specimens displayed high morphological variability during the evolution of Lago Cardiel. More specifically, the switch in reproductive mode – from sexual to parthenogenetic– and the increase in valve ornamentation around 12.7 cal. ka BP suggest that these changes were promoted by the hydrological alteration that occurred in the Late Pleistocene. This exercise provides a robust range of morphological variation for these proxies, which will be useful in further taxonomic and palaeoenvironmental studies adding more information about different factors influencing the observed morphological trends.     

Helgoland Roads,North Sea: 45 Years of Change

The Helgoland Roads time series is one of the richest temporal marine data sets available. Running since 1962, it documents changes for phytoplankton, salinity, Secchi disc depths and macronutrients. Uniquely, the data have been carefully quality controlled and linked to relevant meta-data, and the pelagic time series is further augmented by zooplankton, intertidal macroalgae, macro-zoobenthos and bacterioplankton data. Data analyses have shown changes in hydrography and biota around Helgoland. In the late 1970s, water inflows from the south-west to the German Bight increased with a corresponding increase in flushing rates. Salinity and annual mean temperature have also increased since 1962 and the latter by an average of 1.67°C. This has influenced seasonal phytoplankton growth causing significant shifts in diatom densities and the numbers of large diatoms (e. g. Coscinodiscus wailesii). Changes in zooplankton diversity have included the appearance of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. The macroalgal community also showed an increase in green algal and a decrease in brown algal species after 1959. Over 30 benthic macrofaunal species have been newly recorded at Helgoland over the last 20 years, with a distinct shift towards southern species. These detailed data provide the basis for long-term analyses of changes on many trophic levels at Helgoland Roads.     

Fast Summation of Functions on the Rotation Group

Computing with functions on the rotation group is a task carried out in various areas of application. When it comes to approximation, kernel based methods are a suitable tool to handle these functions. In this paper, we present an algorithm which allows us to evaluate linear combinations of functions on the rotation group as well as a truly fast algorithm to sum up radial functions on the rotation group. These approaches based on nonequispaced FFTs on SO(3) take O(M+N)\mathcal{O}(M+N) arithmetic operations for M and N arbitrarily distributed source and target nodes, respectively. In this paper, we investigate a selection of radial functions and give explicit theoretical error bounds, as well as numerical examples of approximation errors. Moreover, we provide an application of our method, namely the kernel density estimation from electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) data, a problem relevant in texture analysis.     

NanoSIMS analysis and Auger electron spectroscopy of silicate and oxide stardust from the carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094

We have detected 138 presolar silicate, 20 presolar oxide and three presolar complex grains within the carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094 by NanoSIMS oxygen isotope mapping. These grains were further investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy for morphological and chemical details and their distribution within the meteorite matrix. The three complex grains consist of Al-rich oxides (grossite and hibonite) attached to non-stoichiometric Si-rich silicates. Refractory Al-rich oxides therefore serve as seed nuclei for silicates to condense onto, which is proposed by condensation theory and astronomical observations. However, in the majority of presolar silicates we did not find any indications for large subgrains. Most of the grains (80%) belong to O isotope Group I (¹⁷O-enriched) and come from 1 to 2.5 M asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of close-to-solar or slightly lower-than-solar metallicity. About 60% of these grains are irregular in shape; 40% display elliptical morphologies together with smooth, platy surfaces. Three grains with large ¹⁷O enrichments (¹⁷O/¹⁶O > 3 × 10⁻³) have highly irregular shapes and are very small (<250 nm); these grains may have formed in binary star systems or around higher mass () AGB stars. About 10% of the presolar silicates in this study can be assigned to the O isotope Group IV, which most likely originate from type II supernovae (SNeII). These grains are also generally smaller than 300 nm and are often irregular in shape (88%), consistent with the SNII origin scenario. The presolar grains are generally evenly distributed within the matrix on an mm scale, although in one case a statistically significant clustering of five grains in one 10 × 10 μm² sized field is observed. This could be an important hint that the distribution of presolar material in the parental molecular cloud was heterogeneous on a very fine scale. The matrix-normalized abundance of silicate stardust in Acfer 094 is 163 ± 14 ppm, which is among the highest abundance of O-rich stardust in primitive meteorites. Oxide stardust comprises 26 ± 6 ppm of the matrix. Auger Nanoprobe measurements of 69 presolar silicates and oxides (30 on a quantitative, 39 on a qualitative basis) indicate that most of the grains are Fe-rich (Mg/(Mg + Fe) of 0.82 and lower), which is either due to non-equilibrium condensation, secondary alteration, or both. (Mg + Fe)/Si ratios of the silicates are mostly non-stoichiometric and scatter around pyroxene-like rather than olivine-like compositions, which is consistent with recent Auger and transmission electron microscopy observations and astrophysical predictions. Mg-rich grains (Mg/(Mg + Fe) > 0.5) more likely exhibit elliptical, smooth surfaces (14 out of 18 grains), which is an indication that these grains have not been strongly altered since their circumstellar condensation. We identified only one grain similar to the “glass with embedded metal and sulfides” (GEMS) with a statistically significant sulfur content (>2–3 at.%). It remains unclear why the typical high-sulfur GEMS grains are only found in interplanetary dust particles, but have not yet been unequivocally identified in primitive meteorites.     

Mineralogical impact on organic nitrogen across a long-term soil chronosequence (0.3-4100 kyr)

Large portions of organic N (ON) in soil exist tightly associated with minerals. Mineral effects on the type of interactions, chemical composition, and stability of ON, however, are poorly understood. We investigated mineral-associated ON along a Hawaiian soil chronosequence (0.3-4100 kyr) formed in basaltic tephra under comparable climatic, topographic, and vegetation conditions. Mineral-organic associations were separated according to density (ρ > 1.6 g/cm³), characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near edge fine structure (NEXAFS) and analyzed for amino acid enantiomers and amino sugars. The ¹⁴C activity of mineral-bound OC was estimated by accelerator mass spectrometry. The close OC-ON relationship (r = 0.96) and XPS results suggest that ON exists incorporated in bulk mineral-bound OM and likely becomes associated with minerals as part of sorbing OM. The youngest site (0.3 kyr), with soils mainly composed of primary minerals (olivine, pyroxene, feldspar) and with little ON, contained the largest proportion of hydrolyzable amino sugars and amino acids but with a small share of acidic amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid). In soils of the intermediate weathering stage (20-400 kyr), where poorly crystalline minerals and metal(hydroxide)-organic precipitates prevail, more mineral-associated ON was present, containing a smaller proportion of hydrolyzable amino sugars and amino acids due to the preferential accumulation of other OM components such as lignin-derived phenols. Acidic amino acids were more abundant, reflecting the strong association of acidic organic components with metal(hydroxide)-organic precipitates and variable-charge minerals. In the final weathering stage (1400-4100 kyr) with well-crystalline secondary Fe and Al (hydr)oxides and kaolin minerals, mineral-organic associations held less ON and were, relative to lignin phenols, depleted in hydrolyzable amino sugars and amino acids, particularly in acidic amino acids. XPS and NEXAFS analyses showed that the majority (59-78%) of the mineral-associated ON is peptide N while 18-34% was aromatic N. Amino sugar ratios and d-alanine suggest that mineral-associated ON comprises a significant portion of bacterial residues, particularly in the subsoil. With increasing ¹⁴C age, a larger portion of peptide N was non-hydrolyzable, suggesting the accumulation of refractory compounds with time. The constant d/l ratios of lysine in topsoils indicate fresh proteinous material, likely due to continuous sorption of or exchange with fresh N-containing compounds. The ¹⁴C and the d/l signature revealed a longer turnover of proteinous components strongly bound to minerals (not NaOH-NaF-extractable). This study provides evidence that interactions with minerals are important in the transformation and stabilization of soil ON. Mineral-associated ON in topsoils seems actively involved in the N cycling of the study ecosystems, accentuating N limitation at the 0.3-kyr site but increasing N availability at older sites.     

Unstructured grid based 2-D inversion of VLF data for models including topography

We present a 2-D inversion code incorporating a damped least-squares and a minimum-model approach for plane wave electromagnetic (EM) methods using an adaptive unstructured grid finite element forward operator. Unstructured triangular grids permit efficient discretization of arbitrary 2-D model geometries and, hence, allow for modeling arbitrary topography. The inversion model is parameterized on a coarse parameter grid which constitutes a subset of the forward modeling grid. The mapping from parameter to forward modeling grid is obtained by adaptive mesh refinement. Sensitivities are determined by solving a modified sensitivity equation system arising from the derivative of the finite element equations with respect to the model parameters. Firstly, we demonstrate that surface topography may induce significant effects on the EM response and in the inversion result, and that it cannot be ignored when the scale length of topographic variations is in the order of magnitude of the skin depth. Secondly, the dependency of the inversion on the starting model is discussed for VLF and VLF-R data. Thirdly, we demonstrate the inversion of a synthetic data set obtained from a model with topography. Finally, the inversion approach is applied to field data collected in a region with undulating topography.     

Late Quaternary (24–10 ka BP) environmental history of the Neotropical lowlands inferred from ostracodes in sediments of Lago Petén Itzá, Guatemala

We inferred late Pleistocene and early Holocene (24–10 ka BP) environmental conditions in and around Lago Petén Itzá, Guatemala from ostracode remains in the lake sediments. Multivariate statistics were run on autecological information for 29 extant ostracode species collected in 63 aquatic ecosystems on the Yucatán Peninsula along a steep, increasing NW–S precipitation gradient and across a large altitudinal range. Conductivity and water depth are the most important factors that shape ostracode communities. Transfer functions were developed and applied to fossil ostracode assemblages in a ~76-m sediment core (PI-6, ~85 ka) taken in 71 m of water from Lago Petén Itzá, to infer past shifts in conductivity and water level. Results suggest climate was cold and wet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Alternating dry and wet conditions characterized the deglacial. Early Holocene climate was warmer and wetter. The LGM was characterized by low ostracode species richness (4 spp.) and abundance (<940 valves g⁻¹), dominance of benthic over nektobenthic taxa, abundant Physocypria globula, conductivity as low as 190 μS cm⁻¹, and clay-rich sediments with relatively high total organic carbon and low C/N ratios (<14), suggesting relatively deeper water at the core site associated with abundant precipitation. Greatest water depth at the core site during the LGM occurred late in the period and was ~50 m. The deglacial was characterized by drier conditions, higher ostracode species richness (6 spp.) and abundances up to 18,115 valves g⁻¹, dominance of nektobenthic species, and presence of shallow-water and littoral-zone indicators such as Heterocypris punctata and Strandesia intrepida, conductivity up to 550 μS cm⁻¹, C/N ratios as high as 37, and gypsum deposition. Lowest inferred lake depth at the core site during the deglacial was ~20 m. The early Holocene was characterized by high numbers of ostracode remains, up to 25,500 valves g⁻¹, and the presence of L. opesta and P. globula. Cytheridella ilosvayi was absent from late Pleistocene sediments, suggesting it colonized northern Central America during the Holocene.     

3D numerical models of magnetic field evolution in galaxies interacting with the ICM

A fully three-dimensional (3D) MHD model is applied to simulate the evolution of large-scale magnetic field in galaxies interacting with the intra-cluster medium (ICM). As the model input we use a time dependent velocity field of gas clouds (HI) resulting from 3D N-body sticky-particle model of a galaxy. These clouds are affected by ram pressure due to their rapid motion through the ICM. The gas evolves in an analytically given gravitational potential which includes a dark matter halo, a disk, and a bulge component. We found that due to the interaction with the ICM the resultant magnetic field correctly reproduces the observed structures of the magnetic field forming peculiar spiral arms and magnetic features widely observed in cluster spiral galaxies. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.