A new record of pasiphaeid shrimp of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pasiphaea</Emphasis> (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in Korean waters

A single specimen of the pelagic shrimps, Pasiphaea japonica Omori, 1976 (Pasiphaeidae) collected in the southeastern waters of Korea is described and illustrated. Although this species occurs widely in the Indo-West Pacific including the Japanese coast of the East/Japan Sea and the middle and southern parts of the East China Sea, this is the first record of the species and the genus in Korean waters. The species is distinguished from other congeners by the following combination of characteristics: non-carinate dorsal sixth abdominal somite with a terminal tooth, rudimentary pleurobranch on the eighth thoracic somite, merus of the first pereopod with more than eight spines, and almost entirely transparent white color.     

Metals in eggs and hatchlings of Dermochelys coriacea (testudines) in Espírito Santo,Brazil and their relation to hatching and emergence success

Certain concentration of metal may influence survival in embryonic stages, reducing the birthrate and hatching emergence. This study aimed to evaluate concentration of metal in eggs and hatchlings of Dermochelys coriacea and correlate metal concentrations in eggs with hatching and emergence success. The samples were collected at Biological Reserve Station, ES, Brazil. At the nests' opening, unhatched eggs and stillborn hatchlings were collected to survey the successful hatching and emergence of D. coriacea. The eggs shell, egg content, and dead hatchlings metal concentrations were compared to hatching and emergence success. A positive correlation was found between the concentration of copper (Cu) in the hatchlings and the success of the emergence (r² = .28, p < .05), and a moderate positive correlation between the concentrations of iron (Fe) and barium (Ba; r² = .44, p < .05) and success hatching. The concentrations of metals in eggs and hatchlings of D. coriacea in the Espírito Santo are below the levels that could be considered harmful to the species. In summary, there is a positive correlation between metals levels and hatching and emergence success.     

Trust in the fisheries scientific community

This paper explores the issue of “trust” in the fisheries science community, a key corollary of effective risk communication. It presents the findings of a survey undertaken in Iceland, Greece, Spain, United Kingdom and Faroe Islands during 2008. The findings reveal differing levels of trust and mistrust in the fisheries science community between countries and between stakeholder groups, demonstrating areas for future attention in the interests of improving fisheries science and management. As this paper explores, unfortunately the “trust” necessary for effective stakeholder cooperation and participation within current fisheries science is currently somewhat lacking. The cited reasons behind this lack of trust include: a lack of soundness, credibility, responsiveness, flexibility and stakeholder involvement, flawed data and weak science, poor communications and political and lobby group interference. Notable from the results is a lack of consensus on the existence of a common language and vision. It is evident, however, that certain aspects of fisheries science are strong contributors to trust and that there are opportunities for improvement.     

Unusual large-scale phytoplankton blooms in the equatorial Pacific

Unusual large-scale accumulations of phytoplankton occurred across 10,000 km of the equatorial Pacific during the 1998 transition from El Niño to La Niña. The forcing and dynamics of these phytoplankton blooms were studied using satellite-based observations of sea surface height, temperature and chlorophyll, and mooring-based observations of winds, hydrography and ocean currents. During the bloom period, the thermocline (nutricline) was anomalously shallow across the equatorial Pacific. The relative importance of processes that enhanced nutrient flux into the euphotic zone differed between the western and eastern regions of the blooms. In the western bloom region, the important vertical processes were turbulent vertical mixing and wind-driven upwelling. In contrast, the important processes in the eastern bloom region were wave-forced shoaling of nutrient source waters directly into the euphotic zone, along-isopycnal upwelling, and wind-driven upwelling. Advection by the Equatorial Undercurrent spread the largest bloom 4500 km east of where it began, and advection by meridional currents of tropical instability waves transported the bloom hundreds of kilometers north and south of the equator. Many processes influenced the intricate development of these massive biological events. Diverse observations and novel analysis methods of this work advance the conceptual framework for understanding the complex dynamics and ecology of the equatorial Pacific.     

The DNA de-methylating agent 5-azacytidine does not restore CYP1A induction in PCB resistant Newark Bay killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus)

Newark Bay (NB) killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) have been chronically exposed to environmental contaminants that activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and are tolerant to toxic effects and CYP1A induction provoked by AHR ligands. Resistance to CYP1A induction could be due to an epigenetic mechanism such as DNA methylation. We measured in-ovo CYP1A catalytic activity (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, EROD) in NB and reference site killifish embryos aqueously exposed to various concentrations of the de-methylating agent 5-azacytidine, 5-AC (5, 50 and 500 μ(micro)M) with or without 0.2 μ(micro)g/l of the CYP1A inducer 3,3^′,4,4^′,5 pentachlorobiphenyl (IUPAC PCB126). Neither PCB126 alone, nor PCB126 plus 5-AC, induced EROD above levels in vehicle treated Newark Bay fish. In reference site fish, the same PCB126 dose provoked a 7.4-fold EROD induction relative to controls. We conclude that Newark Bay killifish are resistant to CYP1A induction by co-planar PCBs during early embryological development and our data suggests that DNA methylation does not play a critical role in resistance to CYP1A induction in this model.     

A comparative mineralogical study of gas-related sediments of the Gulf of Cádiz

The Gulf of Cádiz area has been extensively surveyed in recent years and several gas-related fluid escape seafloor structures have been identified. In this study, gravity cores, collected during the ANASTASYA/00 and ANASTASYA/01 cruises, on mud volcanoes, hemipelagic sediments and dredged material from diapiric structures, have been studied. A comparative mineralogical analysis by XRD and SEM of samples from different areas has been performed in order to determine whether there is a characteristic mineralogy related to these fluid escape structures, and also to determine the origin of the mud matrix and constrain the depth of the parent units. The mineralogical analysis reflects the different origins of the different units described in the cores: hemipelagic material of the slope, clays that underlie the mud volcanoes and are discharged at the sea bottom surface, and authigenic and diagenetic minerals possibly involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane in the mud volcano sediments.     

Uncertainty in predictions of oil spill trajectories in open sea

A method is introduced to calculate and to account for the uncertainties in the predictions of oil spill trajectories using a classic oil spill model. The method considers the output of the oil spill model as a function of random variables, which are the input parameters, and calculates the standard deviation of the output results which gives a measure of the uncertainty of the model given the uncertainties of the input parameters.Instead of a single trajectory that is calculated by the oil spill model using the mean values of the parameters, a band of trajectories can be defined when various simulations are done taking into account the uncertainties of the input parameters. This band of trajectories defines envelopes of the trajectories that are likely to be followed by the spill given the uncertainties of the input.The method is applied to an oil spill that occurred in open sea near Madeira Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, in December 1989. The simulations allow the understanding of how a change in the wind direction drove the spill towards the Islands.The envelope of likely trajectories that is obtained with the uncertainty modelling shows a band of trajectories that is in better agreement with the observations than the single trajectory simulated by the oil spill model, based on mean parameters.     

Characteristics and regional classification of the copepod community in Ariake Bay with note on comparison with 3 decades ago

Ariake Bay, Kyushu Island, has recently exhibited environmental degradation in the form of red tides and anoxic bottom water. To determine the characteristics and regional classification of the copepod community, zooplankton surveys were made throughout the bay in three cruises each in October 2004, January 2005 and March 2009 by vertical tows of a 0.1-mm-mesh plankton net. Oithona davisae was the most abundant in January and March, and Microsetella norvegica in October. Cluster analysis revealed that the copepod community from each cruise was generally separated into the inner to eastern-middle region and the western-middle to mouth region. A SIMPER analysis revealed that dissimilarity between the groups and similarity within each group were mainly due to the dominant species, but the similarities within the outer-region group in January and March were mostly contributed by Paracalanus parvus s.l. A non-metric multidimensional scaling with bubble plots of environmental variables and a BIOENV analysis showed that transparency was more different between the two groups than temperature and salinity. As compared with two similarly sized, eutrophic bays (Tokyo and Osaka Bays), Ariake Bay differs from Tokyo Bay in the dominance of M. norvegica and from Osaka Bay in the high abundance of O. davisae even in the colder season. The dominant species and the regional classification of the copepod community in the bay were similar to those in the studies in the 1970s, suggesting that the copepod community has not notably changed during the last 3 decades.