A field study on the acute effects of the dispersant Corexit 9527 on glucose uptake by marine microorganisms

The effects of the dispersant Corexit 9527 and Corexit with crude oil on the rate of glucose uptake and mineralisation were studied in Arctic and Subarctic marine waters and sediments. Essentially all of the 149 water and 95 sediment samples tested displayed decreased glucose uptake rates in the presence of either 15 or 50 ppm Corexit. Depressed uptake rates were observed at concentrations as low as 1 ppm. The mean concentration at which Corexit depressed glucose uptake by 50% was 12 ppm. The effect of Corexit was more pronounced on pelagic than on benthic microbial populations.     

The heterotrophic activity for amino acids,glucose and acetate in Antarctic waters

The kinetic approach ofWright andHobbie (1966) was used to determine the heterotrophic potential of Antarctic waters. Variations with depth and geographical location are discussed. Temperature studies indicate the psychrophilic nature of the microbial population. In samples having environmental temperatures of approximately –1C, significant activities were recorded at the lowest incubation temperatures tested (–3C). Activities increased with increasing incubation temperatures up to +3C but were somewhat depressed at +10C and above. By testing a wide range of substrates, qualitative differences were noted in the microbial populations of different areas.Highest rates of uptake were found in the euphotic zone whereas V_max values of samples from depths of 500 m and below were in most cases unmeasurable.Published as Technical Paper No. 4259, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Ovo-testis and disturbed reproductive cycle in the giant abalone, Haliotis madaka: possible linkage with organotin contamination in a site of population decline.

Histological examination of gonads as well as chemical analysis of organotin compounds in tissues of the giant abalone, Haliotis madaka, was conducted to evaluate possible endocrine disruption and to consider the causal factors for the decline of abalone stocks in Japan. Abalone specimens were collected from two different areas, Tsushima as a reference site and Jogashima as a site representative of declining abalone populations, each month from September 1995 to November 1996. Scores were given to the development stages of reproductive cells in the ovary and testis. The degree of sexual maturation was evaluated by calculating the mean value of a histogram of these scores for the reproductive cells of each abalone. The temporal variations in degree of sexual maturation showed that female and male abalone from Tsushima matured synchronously, while those from Jogashima did not. The observed maximum reproductive developmental score in abalone from Jogashima was much lower than that from Tsushima, because immature females were present at the former site throughout the spawing season. Approximately 20% of the abalone from Jogashima were masculinized females with an ovo-testis. The masculinization of female abalone was similar to the imposex, typically induced in other gastropod molluscs by tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) from antifouling paints. Concentrations of TBT and TPhT in the muscles of abalone from Jogashima (n = 83) of 4.9 +/- 4.4 ng/g wet wt and 6.3 +/- 6.6 ng/g wet wt, respectively, were significantly higher than those from Tsushima (n = 125) (P < 0.01) of 0.8 +/- 0.8 ng/g wet wt and 0.6 +/- 1.3 ng/g wet wt, respectively. In situ exposure of abalone from Tsushima caged near a dockyard in Jogashima for 7 months (from the immature to the mature stage) resulted in spermatogenesis in the ovary of approximately 90% of females. Endocrine disruption may be caused in the giant abalone by organotin compounds from antifouling paints, which are possibly one of the causal factors for the decline of Japanese abalone stocks.     

Small-Amplitude Disturbances in a Radiating and ScatteringGrey MediumI. Solutions of Given Real Frequency ω

We reanalyze the propagation of one-dimensional small-amplitude disturbances of given real frequency ω in a radiating and scattering grey medium using the Eddington approximation, which has been studied previously by us (Kaneko et al., 1976). Numerical results reveals three frequency regimes to be distinguished, and two wave modes always appear in each frequency regime. The governing equations and analytic solutions are derived for all wave modes using Whitham's method modified into quadratic form and approximate methods based on radiation thermodynamics. In the high-frequency regime appear the radiation-wave and adiabatic sound modes, which are damped by opacity and radiative cooling, respectively. Wave patterns in the intermediate-frequency and low-frequency regimes depend critically on the importance of radiation, for which the criterion is given in terms of the ratio of total specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume. When the radition overwhelms the matter (radiation-dominated case), the radiative mode in the intermediate-frequency regime is the constant-volume diffusion mode. When the matter overwhelms the radiation (matter-dominated case), damped radiation-wave and damped radiation-diffusion modes newly appear between the radiation-wave and constant-volume diffusion modes. The acoustic mode in the intermediate-frequency regime is the isothermal sound mode,which is damped by radiative cooling at higher frequencies and by radiation-thermal drag force at lower frequencies. Two modes appearing in the low-frequency regime are the isentropic radiation-acoustic and constant-pressure diffusion modes. The absorption coefficient derived for the former is shown to be a radiation-thermodynamic extension of that of Landau and Lifshitz (1987). The transition frequencies between all adjacent two modes are also derived to discuss the implications of them. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characterization of total suspended solid dynamics in a large shallow lake using long‐term daily satellite images

Large, shallow‐water lakes located on floodplains play an important role in creating highly productive ecosystems and are prone to high concentrations of suspended solids due to sediment resuspension. In this study, the aim was to determine the dominant processes governing the total suspended solid (TSS) concentration at the water surface in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, which is a large, shallow‐water lake. Satellite remotely sensed daily reflectance data from 2003 to 2017 were used. Seasonal changes in TSS concentration indicated that bottom sediment resuspension during dry seasons was mostly caused by wind and the TSS concentration was closely correlated with the water depth of the lake. The TSS concentration during flood periods was controlled by both wind and inflow currents from the Tonle Sap River. Additionally, we confirmed that surface/subsurface flow with a low TSS concentration from forests on the floodplain lowered the TSS concentration year round, except during August and September. This fact implied that the floodplain forest area decrease may increase the lake TSS concentration. An analysis of the long‐term changes in TSS indicated that a decrease in the water level during flood periods resulted in the high TSS concentrations observed during the subsequent dry periods. Therefore, climate change and water resource development, which are likely to cause water level reductions in the Mekong River during flood periods, may increase the TSS concentration in Tonle Sap Lake, particularly during the dry season.     

The scalability of the accretion column in magnetic cataclysmic variables: the POLAR project

In this paper, theoretical and experimental laboratory astrophysics results are presented from the POLAR project, the main focus of which is to design and diagnose an exact scaled accretion column using powerful lasers. These measurements allow the testing of the astrophysical models of accretion processes present in magnetic cataclysmic variables.     

Thermolability of dehydrogenases from a psychrophilic marine bacterium

The heat lability of succinic dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase in cell-free extracts ofVibrio marinus MP-1 grown at 15C was compared for the tris buffer suspended enzymes and the NaCl suspended enzymes. The tris buffer suspended enzymes lost 50 percent activity at low thermal exposure between 5C and 27C. No activity was evident on thermal exposure between 32C and 39C. The enzyme extracts suspended in NaCl at 36 % were more heat stable, losing 50 percent activity after exposure between 16C and 40C. The enzymes lost all activity on thermal exposure between 33C and 42C in the presence of NaCl.     

Dietary analysis of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from faecal samples and overlap with fisheries in Erimo,Japan

The number of harbour seals in Japan has been rebounding since protection began in the mid‐1980s. With the increase in seal numbers, increased conflict with fisheries has occurred through depredation and the belief that seals compete with fisheries for prey. However, competition can only be determined if the prey species and quantities seals consume over time are known. We studied the diet of harbour seals in Erimo, site of the largest population of harbour seals in Japan, from 2011 to 2012 and assessed the degree of prey overlap with local fisheries. We used both hard parts and DNA techniques to identify prey items in seal scats, and compared these results to local fisheries data. A total of 46 prey occurrences was detected by both methods, of which 17 matched between techniques at least to the family level. Hard parts methods identified five incidences of prey undetected by DNA methods in five scats (one incidence per scat). DNA methods identified 24 additional prey occurrences in 13 scats, for which no hard part evidence for that prey had been found. This more than doubled the total number of prey occurrences across the 15 scats compared. Overall, the most frequently occurring harbour seal prey were walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), sculpins and snailfishes. In contrast, the top three groups targeted by fisheries were codfishes, salmon and invertebrates. Many species common in the harbour seal's diet such as snailfishes and blennies were not targeted by fisheries. Fishes such as greenlings, sculpins, rockfishes and Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) were common in the diet of harbour seals, but made up a very small proportion of fisheries catches in Erimo. The importance of other prey species varied between seasons. Sculpins, greenlings and forage fishes were the top three prey groups for harbour seals in spring by percent modified frequency of occurrence, whereas the most important target groups by percentage mass caught by fisheries were codfishes, cephalopods and other invertebrates. Sculpins and rockfishes remained as important prey items for harbour seals in summer and autumn, in addition to codfishes, snailfishes and blennies. In contrast, the main groups caught by fisheries in summer were other fishes, particularly Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata) and various species of sharks and eels, and invertebrates. By autumn, Erimo fisheries had focussed on catching salmon. Salmon were taken by harbour seals as well during this period, but at a relatively lower frequency compared to other prey groups. The results of our study show that although harbour seals consumed several of the prey species targeted by fisheries, the relative importance of these species to seals and fisheries and the seasons in which they were targeted were different.     

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