A matter of tolerance: Distribution potential of scyphozoan polyps in a changing environment

Jellyfish blooms are unpredictable, unsustainable events, frequently affecting aquatic ecosystems severely. Of particular interest are the consequences of environmental change for jellyfish populations, especially in semi‐enclosed habitats. Regional and seasonal changes in water chemistry and physics may control the distribution of sessile polyps in the Baltic Sea, hence potentially driving the population dynamics of the two abundant medusa species Aurelia aurita and Cyanea capillata (Scyphozoa, Cnidaria). In laboratory experiments, settlement, growth, survival and physiological condition of A. aurita polyps were investigated at different levels of water temperature, pH and salinity. Survival and physiological condition of C. capillata polyps were examined after exposure to low salinity levels. Increased settlement of A. aurita planula larvae was observed on substrate plates at low temperature (4°C), low pH (7.4) and low salinity (7.5 psu), whereas early polyp growth was constrained by salinity ≤10 psu. Aurelia aurita polyps were in good physiological condition over the whole temperature range, while exposure to pH <6.5 led to stepwise tissue degradation. Salinity reduction to ≤5 and ≤8 psu caused irreversible degeneration of A. aurita and C. capillata polyps, respectively. Observed physiological limits suggest distribution of polyp populations of A. aurita in central and of C. capillata in western parts of the Baltic Sea, while future climate changes may particularly restrict occurrence of the less tolerant C. capillata.     

The vulnerability of beach tourism to climate change—an index approach

The attractiveness of a region for touristic activities depends strongly on the local weather and climate. This paper analyses the vulnerability of the beach tourism sector towards climate change by means of an index approach on a country level. A vulnerability framework for the tourism sector is developed and on its basis, indicators are defined for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. A transparent index approach, including a robustness analysis with multiple transformation methods and weighting sets, yields an assessment of the overall relative vulnerability of the beach tourism sector in 51 countries. Aggregate results on an annual level are presented as a starting point for a more detailed comparison of countries based on the individual indicators. The important limitations regarding the availability of accurate indicators as well as the concept of vulnerability itself are discussed. Despite these limitations, the present study contributes to integrating the numerous direct as well as indirect effects climate change may have on beach tourism.     

Aspartic acid racemization dating of Holocene brachiopods and bivalves from the southern Brazilian shelf, South Atlantic

The extent of racemization of aspartic acid (Asp) has been used to estimate the ages of 9 shells of the epifaunal calcitic brachiopod Bouchardia rosea and 9 shells of the infaunal aragonitic bivalve Semele casali. Both taxa were collected concurrently from the same sites at depths of 10 m and 30 m off the coast of Brazil. Asp D/L values show an excellent correlation with radiocarbon age at both sites and for both taxa (r²_{Site 9 B. rosea} = 0.97, r²_{Site 1 B. rosea} = 0.997, r²_{Site 9 S. casali} = 0.9998, r²_{Site 1 S. casali} = 0.93). The Asp ratios plotted against reservoir-corrected AMS radiocarbon ages over the time span of multiple millennia can thus be used to develop reliable and precise geochronologies not only for aragonitic mollusks (widely used for dating previously), but also for calcitic brachiopods. At each collection site, Bouchardia specimens display consistently higher D/L values than specimens of Semele. Thermal differences between sites are also notable and in agreement with theoretical expectations, as extents of racemization for both taxa are greater at the warmer, shallower site than at the cooler, deeper one. In late Holocene marine settings, concurrent time series of aragonitic and calcitic shells can be assembled using Asp racemization dating, and parallel multi-centennial to multi-millennial records can be developed simultaneously for multiple biomineral systems.     

Extraction of highly polar organophosphorus pesticides from water

Some of the pesticides listed in the European 76/464/EC Directive and in the Directive 2000/60/EC are very polar and require special analytical methodology with respect to their extraction from water. The extraction of the organophosphorus pesticides methamidophos, omethoate, oxydemeton‐methyl, mevinphos and trichlorfon with lg P_OW below 1 was investigated using 21 different solid‐phase materials. Each material was tested on spiked natural water at 4 different pH values, adjusted prior to extraction. The following range of materials were tested: octadecyl silica, polymers, modified silica, ion exchange and carbon. Extraction of the above compounds from water is possible. A relationship between the octanol‐water partition coefficient and recovery rates was obtained not only for octadecyl solid phases but also for some polymeric materials. General conclusions about the use of solid‐phase materials and specific conclusions about the extraction of particular compounds were made. An optimized extraction procedure was deduced and confirmed.     

Physico-chemical and biological sediment properties determining erosion resistance of contaminated riverine sediments – Temporal and vertical pattern at the Lauffen reservoir/River Neckar, Germany

In order to contribute to a reliable, easy-to-handle and economically viable erosion risk assessment of contaminated riverine sites, the present study aims to implement master-variables best characterising the sediment stability. Thus, a wide range of sediment properties was related to the critical shear stress for mass erosion, determined in the SETEG (Stroemungskanal zur Ermittlung der tiefenabhaengigen Erosionsstabilitaet von Gewaessersedimenten) pressurised channel, with special emphasis on vertical and temporal gradients in the Lauffen reservoir on the River Neckar. Over the course of 1 year, positive impacts of some macrofauna species and benthic diatoms on the sediment stability were detected for the sediment surface (0.5 cm). However, a high seasonal variability of biological parameters caused varying relations with erosion resistance in the upper sediment layers as shown for the colloidal carbohydrates. Considering only deeper sediment layers (5–35 cm), a more general pattern could be revealed with correlations between the critical shear stress and single sediment properties such as depth, grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), cation exchange coefficient (CEC), carbohydrates and proteins. Firstly, the influence of physico-chemical and biological properties on erosion resistance became evident, even over depths at 0–35 cm. Secondly, inter-particle forces are most important for erosion resistance. These are enhanced in fine-grained sediment layers, offering high binding capacities but also strengthened by polymeric substances permeating the void space and coating particles. These covariance patterns of sedimentological and biological parameters are addressed by multivariate statistical tests (principal component analysis), resulting in a higher magnitude of the correlation coefficient between critical shear stress and the master-variables in main component II (polymeric substances, grain size, TOC, CEC; R=0.77) compared to single correlations.     

Der Einfluß der Komplexierung auf die Kupfertoxizität bei Blaualgen

Some aspects of the influence of copper speciation on toxicity for blue-green algae are reviewed. The experimental part concentrates on Oscillatoria redekei and Aphanizomenon gracile. The two investigated species produce strong extracellular copper complexing ligands: Oscillatoria redekei in the exponential and stationary growth phase, and Aphanizomenon gracile has a distinct detoxification capacity. The detoxification of copper by synthetic agents was investigated using ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid. Simultaneous addition of Cu²⁺ and Na₂EDTA gives evidence for a slow complexation reaction. Hence an excess of Na₂EDTA is necessary for a fast and complete detoxification of copper. Model calculations are reported to show that the precipitation of copper compounds is not probable under the conditions used.     

Adding source positions to the IVS combination—First results

The consistent estimation of terrestrial reference frames (TRF), celestial reference frames (CRF) and Earth orientation parameters (EOP) is still an open subject and offers a large field of investigations. Until now, source positions resulting from Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations are not routinely combined on the level of normal equations in the same way as it is a common process for station coordinates and EOPs. The combination of source positions based on VLBI observations is now integrated in the IVS combination process. We present the studies carried out to evaluate the benefit of the combination compared to individual solutions. On the level of source time series, improved statistics regarding weighted root mean square have been found for the combination in comparison with the individual contributions. In total, 67 stations and 907 sources (including 291 ICRF2 defining sources) are included in the consistently generated CRF and TRF covering 30 years of VLBI contributions. The rotation angles \(A_1\), \(A_2\) and \(A_3\) relative to ICRF2 are ?12.7, 51.7 and 1.8 \({\upmu }\) as, the drifts \(D_\alpha \) and \(D_\delta \) are ?67.2 and 19.1 \(\upmu \) as/rad and the bias \(B_\delta \) is 26.1 \(\upmu \) as. The comparison of the TRF solution with the IVS routinely combined quarterly TRF solution shows no significant impact on the TRF, when the CRF is estimated consistently with the TRF. The root mean square value of the post-fit station coordinate residuals is 0.9 cm.     

Temporal Evolution of the North Pacific CO2 Uptake Rate

The recent changes in the North Pacific uptake rate of carbon have been estimated using a number of different techniques over the past decade. Recently, there has been a marked increase in the number of estimates being submitted for publication. Most of these estimates can be grouped into one of five basic techniques: carbon time-series, non-carbon tracers, carbon tracers, empirical relationships, and inverse calculations. Examples of each of these techniques as they have been applied in the North Pacific are given and the estimates summarized. The results are divided into three categories: integrated water column uptake rate estimates, mixed layer increases, and surface pCO₂ increases. Most of the published values fall under the water column integrated uptake rate category. All of the estimates varied by region and depth range of integration, but generally showed consistent patterns of increased uptake from the tropics to the subtropics. The most disagreement between the methods was in the sub-arctic Pacific. Column integrated uptake rates ranged from 0.25 to 1.3 mol m⁻²yr⁻¹. The mixed layer uptake estimates were much more consistent, with values of 1.0–1.3 μmol kg⁻¹yr⁻¹ based on direct observations and multiple linear regression approaches. Surface pCO₂ changes showed the most obvious regional variability (0.5–2.5 μatm yr⁻¹) reflecting the sensitivity of these measurements to differences in the physical and biological forcing. The different techniques used to evaluate the changes in North Pacific carbon distributions do not completely agree on the exact magnitude or spatial and temporal patterns of carbon uptake rate. Additional research is necessary to resolve these issues and better constrain the role of the North Pacific in the global carbon cycle. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.