Enzymatic Approach to Fungal Association with Arthropod Guts: A Case Study for the Crustacean Host, Nihonotrypaea harmandi, and Its Foregut Fungus, Enteromyces callianassae

Abstract. In the callianassid shrimp Nihonotrypaea harmandi (Bouvier 1901), the trichomycete fungus Enteromyces callianassae Lichtwardt 1961 occurs exclusively on the foregut lining. The enzymes from both the shrimp and the fungus apparently hydrolyze certain nitrogen and carbon compounds in detritus. The activities of various proteases and carbohydrases contained in the foregut juice were compared between fungus-infected shrimps collected from a sandflat in Kyushu, Japan (51 % infection rate) and uninfected shrimps from a nearby sandflat. The concentration of enzymatically hydrolyzable amino acids (EHAA) in sediment liberated by the foregut juice with fungi was slightly lower than that by 0.1 mg·ml^-1 proteinase-K and significantly higher than that by the foregut juice without fungi. In both foregut juices, substantial enzyme activities were recorded for proteinase(s), peptidases, amylase, cellulase and β-1,3-glucanase, and minimal ones for maltase and cellobiase. Of the commercial substrates examined, only in the case of the mixture of 16 kinds of dipeptides was a significantly higher enzyme activity in the foregut juice with fungi observed. In the process of EHAA liberation from sediment, peptidases secreted by the fungus most probably act as a supplement to the endogenous secretion by the shrimp. This may explain the higher shrimp growth rate recorded for the population with fungi. However, the significantly higher sediment EHAA concentration of the sandflat inhabited by this population versus the population without fungi could be another crucial factor explaining the site difference in shrimp growth rate.     

Effect of iron enrichment on the dynamics of transparent exopolymer particles in the western subarctic Pacific

Dynamics of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) was studied during the first in situ iron-enrichment experiment conducted in the western subarctic Pacific in July–August 2001, with the goal of evaluating the contribution of TEP to vertical flux as a result of increased primary production following iron enrichment in open ocean ecosystems. Subsequent to the enhancement of phytoplankton production, we observed increase in TEP concentration in the surface layer and sedimentation of organic matter beneath it. Vertical profiles of TEP, chlorophyll a (Chl a) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were obtained from six depths between 5 and 70 m, from a station each located inside and outside the enriched patch. TEP and total mass flux were estimated from the floating sediment traps deployed at 200 m depth. Chl a and TEP concentrations outside the patch varied from 0.2 to 1.9 μg L⁻¹ and 40–60 μg XG equiv. L⁻¹, respectively. Inside the patch, Chl a increased drastically from day 7 reaching the peak of 19.2 μg L⁻¹ on day 13, which coincided with the TEP peak of 189 μg XG equiv. L⁻¹. TEP flux in the sediment trap increased from 41 to 88 mg XG equiv. m⁻² d⁻¹, with 8–14% contribution of TEP to total mass flux. This forms the basic data set on ambient concentrations of TEP in the western subarctic Pacific, and evaluation of the effect of iron enrichment on TEP.     

Seasonal Changes in Oceanic pCO2 in the Oyashio Region from Winter to Spring

We observed the partial pressure of oceanic CO₂, pCO₂ ^sea, and related surface properties in the westernmost region of the subarctic North Pacific, seasonally from 1998 to 2001. The pCO₂ ^sea in the Oyashio region showed a large decrease from winter to spring. In winter, pCO₂ ^sea was higher than 400 μatm in the Oyashio region and this region was a source of atmospheric CO₂. In spring, pCO₂ ^sea decreased to extremely low values, less than 200 μatm (minimum, 139 μatm in 2001), around the Oyashio region with low surface salinity and this region turned out to be a strong sink. The spatial variations of pCO₂ ^sea were especially large in spring in this region. The typical Oyashio water with minimal mixing with subtropical warm water was extracted based on the criterion of potential alkalinity. The contribution of main oceanic processes to the changes in pCO₂ ^sea from winter to spring was estimated from the changes in the concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrients, total alkalinity, temperature and salinity observed in surface waters in respective years. These quantifications indicated that photosynthesis made the largest contribution to the observed pCO₂ ^sea decreases in all years and its magnitude was variable year by year. These year-to-year differences in spring biological contribution could be linked to those in the development of the density stratification due to the decrease in surface salinity. Thus, the changes in the surface physical structure could induce those in pCO₂ ^sea in the Oyashio region in spring. Furthermore, it is suggested that the direction and magnitude of the air-sea CO₂ flux during this season could be controlled significantly by the onset time of the spring bloom. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characteristics of the Kuroshio in the vicinity of the Izu Ridge

Characteristics of the Kuroshio in the vicinity of the Izu Islands are analyzed by using hydrographic observations collected from 1938 to 1980 mostly by the Hydrographic Department, Maritime Safety Agency, Japan and by the Japan Meteorological Agency.It is shown that flow characteristics change as the Kuroshio approaches the Izu Ridge. 1) The position of the 10°C isotherm at the 500 m level, which is, an index of the position of the temperature front or of the current axis of the Kuroshio, is highly variable near the ridge. 2) The horizontal temperature gradient across the Kuroshio estimated from the positions of the 8 and 12°C isotherms across the Kuroshio decreases considerably near the Izu Ridge. 3) The horizontal distance between the 15°C isotherm at the 200 m level and 10°C isotherm at the 500 m level becomes larger over the ridge. The 15°C isotherm at the 200 m level is an index of the current axis at the sea surface. This implies that the inclination of the Kuroshio axis becomes larger over the ridge.     

Validation of ADEOS-II GLI ocean color products using in-situ observations

The Global Imager (GLI) aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) made global observations from 2 April 2003 to 24 October 2003. In cooperation with several institutes and scientists, we obtained quality controlled match-ups between GLI products and in-situ data, 116 for chlorophyll-a concentration (CHLA), 249 for normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) at 443 nm, and 201 for aerosol optical thickness at 865 nm (Tau_865) and Angstrom exponent between 520 and 865 nm (Angstrom). We evaluated the GLI ocean color products and investigated the causes of errors using the match-ups. The median absolute percentage differences (MedPD) between GLI and in-situ data were 14.1–35.7% for nLws at 380–565 nm, 52.5–74.8% nLws at 625–680 nm, 47.6% for Tau_865, 46.2% for Angstrom, and 46.6% for CHLA, values that are comparable to the ocean-color products of other sensors. We found that some errors in GLI products are correlated with observational conditions; nLw values were underestimated when nLw at 680 nm was high, CHLA was underestimated in absorptive aerosol conditions, and Tau_865 was overestimated in sunglint regions. The error correlations indicate that we need to improve the retrievals of the optical properties of absorptive aerosols and seawater and sea surface reflection for further applications, including coastal monitoring and the combined use of products from multiple sensors.     

Detection of a new interstellar molecule, H2CN

We have detected a new interstellar molecule, H2CN (methylene amidogen), in the cold, dark molecular cloud TMC-l. The column density of H2CN is estimated to be approximately 1.5 x 10(11) cm-2 by assuming an excitation temperature of 5 K. This column density corresponds to a fractional abundance relative to H2 of approximately 1.5 x 10(-11). This value is more than three orders of magnitude less than the abundance of the related molecule HCN in TMC-1. We also report a tentative detection of H2CN in Sgr B2(N). The formation mechanism of H2CN is discussed. Our detection of the H2CN molecule may suggest the existence of a new series of carbon-chain molecules, CH2CnN (n = 0, 1, 2,...).     

Hybridization of a Shallow 'I-type' Granitoid Pluton and its Host Migmatite by Magma-Chamber Wall Collapse: the Tokuwa Pluton, Central Japan

The Miocene Tokuwa pluton of ‘I-type’ granitoidaffinity was emplaced discordantly into a Cretaceous to Paleogeneaccretionary complex and induced a contact aureole in whichvarious thermally metamorphosed rocks were developed, includinghornfels, metatexite, diatexite and cordierite-bearing tonalite(Crd-tonalite) of ‘S-type’ granite affinity. Thethermally metamorphosed rocks show low-pressure reaction texturesculminating in partial melting. Peak P–T conditions of3 kbar at 780°C are estimated on the basis of the TWQ thermobarometerfor the garnet-bearing rocks. The rocks in the contact aureoleexhibit a gradual transition from hornfels, through metatexiteand diatexite to Crd-tonalite. The Sr-isotopic composition atthe time of Tokuwa pluton emplacement at 12 Ma decreases systematicallyfrom metatexite (0·7100–0·7112) throughdiatexite (0·7078–0·7094) to Crd-tonalite(0·7067–0·7068); this trend is interpretedin terms of mixing between the Tokuwa magma and the aureolemigmatites. The field relationships, geochemical data, and isotopicdata collectively suggest that the emplacement of the Tokuwapluton triggered partial melting of the surrounding metasedimentaryrocks. Subsequent hybridization of the Tokuwa magma with themetatexite in variable proportions produced the Crd-tonaliteand diatexite. The hybridization was caused by invasion of theTokuwa magma into the migmatite zone, accompanied by gravitationalcollapse of the previously crystallized wall of the magma chamber.The data presented demonstrate that even a relatively low-temperature,shallow, ‘I-type’ granitoid pluton can induce contactanatexis and hybrid ‘S-type’ granitoid formationat the intrusive contact. KEY WORDS: contact metamorphism; hybridization; magma–host-rock interaction; migmatite; ‘S-type’ granitoid     

Incorporation of U,Pb and Rare Earth Elements in Calcite through Crystallisation from Amorphous Calcium Carbonate: Simple Preparation of Reference Materials for Microanalysis

Uncertainty for elemental and isotopic measurements in calcite by LA‐ICP‐MS is largely controlled by the homogeneity of the reference materials (RMs) used for calibration and validation. In order to produce calcite RMs with homogeneous elemental and isotopic compositions, we incorporated elements including U, Pb and rare earth elements into calcite through heat‐ and pressure‐induced crystallisation from amorphous calcium carbonate that was precipitated from element‐doped reagent solution. X‐ray absorption spectra showed that U was present as U(VI) in the synthesised calcite, probably with a different local structure from that of aqueous uranyl ions. The uptake rate of U by our calcite was higher in comparison with synthetic calcite of previous studies. Variations of element mass fractions in the calcite were better than 12% 2RSD, mostly within 7%. The ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ratio in the calcite showed < 1% variations, while the ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb ratio showed 3–24% variations depending on element mass fractions. Using the synthetic calcite as primary RMs, we could date a natural calcite RM, WC‐1, with analytical uncertainty as low as < 3%. The method presented can be useful to produce calcite with controlled and homogeneous element mass fractions and is a promising alternative to natural calcite RMs for U‐Pb geochronology.