How Sessile are Sea Anemones? A Review of Free-living Forms in the Actiniaria Cnidaria: Anthozoa

Abstract. There is scattered information in the literature that sea anemones are not always sedentary but instead may temporarily or permanently live loosely attached, detached or even pelagically. This is the first attempt to summarize and assess these observations and their probable ecological significance for the life cycles of the respective species. According to current knowledge there are no truly pelagic species of sea anemones; thus, the 'Minyadidae' sensu C arlgren , 1949 have to be abolished as a taxonomic group. Instead, there are indications that there are phases and stages within the life course of many anemone species which are liable to lead a free life in response to abiotic and biotic environmental factors. Juvenile, post-metamorphic stages seem to be of major significance in these respects and may be subjected to long distance dispersal. It is speculated that some of these free-living stages may represent morphologically and/or ecologically different stages between larvae and adults. The newly discovered lifestyle of 'straying predator' is described from sublittoral habitats off South Africa.     

LATE PLEISTOCENE ICE FLUCTUATIONS AND GLACIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE ARCHIPIÉLAGO DE CHILOÉ, SOUTHERN CHILE

Most of the last glacial maximum (LGM) glacier record west of the southern Andes (40–55° S) is today submerged under the Pacific Ocean and therefore the Archipiélago de Chiloé (42–43° S) provides an unusual opportunity to study local sediment and landform associations to help understand paleoglacial features of the former Patagonian ice sheet (PIS). In this context, this work presents the first comprehensive glacial geomorphologic mapping of the central region of the Archipiélago de Chiloé, which is located in a transitional geomorphic region between the Chilean Lake District (CLD, 39–41° S, 73° W) and northwest Patagonia (～43–48° S, 74° W). The Chilotan glacial geomorphology and sediment associations resulted from a warm‐based glacier that characterizes a typical active glacial temperate landsystem, which in central Chiloé combines deposits and landform units originated in subglacial and subaerial environments. Paleoglacial features that occur in central Chiloé are characteristic of an ice‐sheet style of glaciation, which differentiates it from a typical Alpine glacial style defined previously for the CLD. Therefore, the Archipiélago de Chiloé represents a geographical break point where the PIS became the large ice mass that occupied the Patagonian Andes during the last glacial period (Llanquihue Glaciation). A double ice‐contact slope on the east face of the Cordillera de La Costa provides evidence for the most extensive Early Llanquihue glacial advance on Isla Grande de Chiloé. The most prominent LGM advance in the area occurred at 26 000 cal yr BP, coincident with regional stadial conditions, and is defined by a big moraine along the east coast of the island.     

PALAEOCLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY OF STALAGMITES FROM COASTAL AREAS IN TANZANIA

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of Tanzanian stalagmites as palaeoclimatic archives. Twelve stalagmites were collected in cave systems in the coastal areas. U-series dating, combined with published ¹⁴C-data, shows that one of the stalagmites was precipitated during the latter half of the latest glacial, between approximately 39 and 27 ka. Stable isotope analysis results indicate millennial-scale fluctuations in atmospheric CO₂ level during that time; and these fluctuations show a pattern very similar to that of the δ¹⁸O variations in the GRIP and Byrd ice-cores. The other stalagmites analysed turned out to be too porous and/or contained too much detritus to allow for reliable U-series dating. Due to low uranium content, the precision of the dating results is generally also poor. Samples from the five most compact and clean specimens yielded ages from c. 105 ka to c. 17 ka, though sometimes with an inverse age stratigraphy, indicating that the stalagmite precipitates were partly not compact enough to prevent post-depositional uranium leakage.     

Early Weichselian interstadial sediments at Härnösand, Sweden

The till-covered organic sediments at Härnösand have been resampled and reinvestigated with respect to their micro- and macrofossil content. The sediments were deposited in a shallow freshwater basin with a sandy substratum and probably under oligotrophic conditions. The regional vegetation consisted of a shrub or herb tundra, later changing into an open Betula forest with scattered Picea and Larix . In the lake, submerged plants such as Potamogeton filiformis and Isoëtes lacustris grew, together with Carex . On the shores the vegetation consisted of Betula nana , occasional Betula trees, Salix and Selaginella selaginoides . The beetle fauna suggests an average July temperature of 10–11°C. The flora indicates limited leaching and, thus, deposition during a relatively long and warm interstadial is suggested. The Härnösand sediments are subsequently correlated with the Brörup Interstadial.