Bioenhancement of cadmium transfer along a multi-level food chain

Previous studies have shown that metal partitioned to a subcellular compartment containing trophically available metal (TAM) is readily available to predators and may be enhanced by increased binding of metal to heat-stable proteins (HSP - e.g., metallothioneins). The aim of the current investigation was to determine the influence of TAM on the trophic transfer of Cd along an experimental, three-level food chain: Artemia franciscana (brine shrimp)-->Palaemonetes pugio (grass shrimp)-->Fundulus heteroclitus (mummichog). P. pugio were fed for 7 days on A. franciscana exposed to Cd in solution (including (109)Cd as radiotracer) and subjected to subcellular fractionation or fed to F. heteroclitus. An HSP-driven increase in the percentage of Cd associated with TAM (TAM-Cd%) in A. franciscana exposed to 1 muM Cd resulted in a bioenhancement (i.e., a greater than linear increase with respect to A. franciscana exposure) of Cd trophic transfer to P. pugio. Increased dietary Cd exposure did not affect TAM-Cd% in P. pugio nor trophic transfer to F. heteroclitus.     

Twelve years of tracking 52-Hz whale calls from a unique source in the North Pacific

A unique whale call with 50–52 Hz emphasis from a single source has been tracked over 12 years in the central and eastern North Pacific. These calls, referred to as 52-Hz calls, were monitored and analyzed from acoustic data recorded by hydrophones of the US Navy Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and other arrays. The calls were noticed first in 1989, and have been detected and tracked since 1992. No other calls with similar characteristics have been identified in the acoustic data from any hydrophone system in the North Pacific basin. Only one series of these 52-Hz calls has been recorded at a time, with no call overlap, suggesting that a single whale produced the calls. The calls were recorded from August to February with most in December and January. The species producing these calls is unknown. The tracks of the 52-Hz whale were different each year, and varied in length from 708 to 11,062 km with travel speeds ranging from 0.7 to 3.8 km/h. Tracks included (A) meandering over short ranges, (B) predominantly west-to-east movement, and (C) mostly north-to-south travel. These tracks consistently appeared to be unrelated to the presence or movement of other whale species (blue, fin and humpback) monitored year-round with the same hydrophones.     

The sea as a source of atmospheric phosphorus

The geochemical fractionation of phosphorus on the drop produced by bubbles bursting in seawater has been studied using a field sampling system called the Bubble Interfacial Microlayer Sampler (BIMS). The droplets from bursting bubbles were collected on filter samples in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island during the summer of 1975. Phosphorus was found to be fractionated by the bubble-bursting process. The enrichment factor ranged from 4 to 170. Enrichment was found to increase with decreasing phosphorus concentration at 20 cm depth while it decreases with increasing wind velocity. Enrichment was independent of bubbling depth. Together these facts suggest that the sea-surface microlayer is the source of the phosphorus on the ejected drops. Organic phosphorus on the filter samples was found to be enriched relative to surface-water phosphorus by factors of 100–200, while reactive phosphorus was enriched by factors of only 6–8. This suggests that surface-active organic phosphorus compounds are the source phosphorus in the microlayer.The organic phosphorus content of samples of atmospheric particulates collected over the phosphate-rich upwelling waters near the Peru coast was found to correlate significantly with sea-salt sodium. Enrichments calculated using the average phosphorus concentration of the surface water in this area agree well with the results of the BIMS study. Thus it appears that phosphorus fractionation does occur in nature and may be important in supplying this nutrient to some coastal regions of the world.     

The role of overwash in the evolution of mixing zone morphology within barrier islands

Overwash is a major controlling factor in the morphology of the mixing zone of coastal aquifers. Conceptual models of the mixing zone describe an interface controlled by tidal oscillations, wave run-up, and other factors; however, few describe the influence of large storm events. In August 1993, Hatteras Island, North Carolina, USA, experienced a 3-m storm surge due to Hurricane Emily. Sound-side flooding infiltrated a wellfield, causing a dramatic increase in TDS levels that persisted for more than 3 years. Two-dimensional simulations with SUTRA, the USGS finite-element model, are calibrated to the TDS breakthrough data of this storm to infer model dispersivity values. Simulations using the calibrated dispersivity values, predicted flooding levels, and 54 years of hurricane records to determine the influence of the overwash events suggest that it is rare for the mixing zone to approximate the conceptual morphology. Even during quiescent periods such as between 1965 and 1975, TDS levels do not return to theoretical levels before being elevated by a subsequent storm event. Thus, while tidal oscillations and other factors are important to mixing zone development, basic wind events and more severe storm events may have more influence and lasting effect on the morphology of the mixing zone.     

Below- and Aboveground Spartina alterniflora Production in a Louisiana Salt Marsh

The monthly variations of below- and aboveground biomass of Spartina alterniflora were documented for a south Louisiana salt marsh from March 2004 to March 2005, and in March 2006 and 2007. The annual production rate above- and belowground was 1821 and 11,676 g m^?2, respectively (Smalley method), and the annual production rate per biomass belowground was 10.7 g dry weight^?1, which are highs along the latitudinal distributions of the plant’s range. The average root + rhizome/shoot ratio (R&R/S) was 2.6:1, which is lower than the R&R/S ratios of 4 to 5.1 reported for Spartina sp. marshes in the northeastern US. The belowground biomass increased from July to September and fluctuated between October and November, after which it declined until February when the growing season began. The belowground biomass was dominated by rhizomes, which declined precipitously in spring and then rose to a seasonal high in the month before declining again as the late summer rise in inflorescence began. Over half of the root biomass in a 30-cm soil profile was in the upper 10 cm, and in the 10- to 20-cm profile for rhizomes. The maximum March biomass above- and belowground was four to five times that of the minimum biomass over the four sampling years. The net standing stock (NSS) of N and P in live biomass aboveground compared to that in the belowground biomass was about 1.7 times higher and equal, respectively, but the NSS of N and P for the live + dead biomass was about six times higher belowground. The average nitrogen/phosphorous molar ratios of 16:1 aboveground is in agreement with the often tested N limitation of biomass accumulation aboveground, whereas the 37:1 belowground ratio suggests that there is an influence of P on R&R foraging for P belowground. Some implications for management and restoration are, in part, that salt marshes should be evaluated and examined using information on the plant’s physiology and production both below- and aboveground.     

Petrogenesis of the late-Delamerian gabbroic complex at Black Hill,South Australia: Implications for convective thinning of the lithospheric mantle

Summary A group of funnel-shaped gabbroic plutons at Black Hill, South Australia, consist of a lower series of layered peridotite, troctolite and olivine gabbro cumulates overlain by gabbronorites and potassic gabbronorites, the latter yielding a Sm-Nd isochron of 489 ± 39 Ma. Mineral assemblages in the gabbros record an olivine compositional hiatus (Fo_75-55) and a high temperature (1200-1000°C), low pressure (1 kbar), continental tholeiitic fractionation trend under moderate f_{O 2} (QFM) conditions. The liquid line of descent involved complex open system processes including recharge and crustal assimilation. In one pluton, fine-grained norites may reflect assimilation which resulted in an increaseda _SiO2 ^liquid causing orthopyroxene to crystallize prior to plagioclase.All the gabbros, including the most primitive peridotites, are LREE and incompatible element enriched. Moreover, the calculated parental magma composition in equilibrium with the most primitive troctolite has high La/Yb, La/Nb, Ti/Y and low Rb/Ba, similar to that of basaltic dykes which cut the gabbroic complex. Such compositions are untypical of melts derived from the asthenosphere suggesting that the incompatible element enrichment is not simply due to small degrees of melting. Given the isotopic constraints (Nd_i 3.4 to –4.6,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i 0.7038-0.7065), this enrichment is not easily reconciled by crustal contamination either, and instead it is inferred to reflect an enriched lithospheric mantle source. Published data on mantle xenoliths from local Tertiary volcanoes overlap the isotopic and geochemical array of the gabbros and dykes, supporting this hypothesis.In conjunction with A-type granites and minor volcanic rocks, the gabbroic plutons form part of a high temperature, bimodal magmatic suite which intruded the Adelaide fold belt just after the cessation of convergent deformation during the Cambro-Ordovician Delamerian Orogeny. The appearance of such magmas is problematic since thick orogenic lithosphere severely restricts the likelihood of decompression melting in the asthenosphere. One solution to this dilemma is that convective thinning of the lithospheric mantle beneath the orogen promoted melting of hydrated, enriched regions within the lithospheric mantle. Such a model can reconcile the strong lithospheric mantle signature in the gabbros with the observation that their intrusion was coincident with uplift and the cessation of deformation.

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Die Petrogenese eines spätdelamerischen Gabbrokomplexes von Black Hill, Südaustralien: Schlußfolgerungen zur konvektiven Ausdünnung des lithospharischen Mantels

Zusammenfassung Eine Gruppe von trichterförmigen, gabbroiden Plutonen von Black Hill, Südaustralien, setzt sich aus einer unteren Serie von geschichteten Peridotiten, Troktoliten and Olivin-Gabbro-Kumulaten, die von Gabbro-Noriten und potassischen Gabbros überlagert werden, zusammen; letzgenannte Gesteine ergaben ein Sm-Nd Isochronenalter von 489 ± 39 Ma. Die Mineralzusammensetzungen der Gabbros belegen eine Mischungslücke bei Olivin (Fo_75-55). Die Gesteine folgen einem kontinentalen, tholeiitischen Fraktionierungstrend und kristallisierten bei hohen Temperaturen (1200-1000°C), unter niedrigem Druck ( 1 kbar) and moderatem fo₂ ( QFM). Wiederholte Magmenzufuhr und Krustenassimilation sind weitere zu beriicksichtigende, komplexe Prozesse, die sich in einem offenen System abspielten. Feinkörnige Norite von einem der Plutone könnten durch Assimilationsprozesse - she äußern sich in einer Erhöhung desa _SiO₂ ^liquid liquid - entstanden sein. In diesen Gesteinen kristallisierte Orthopyroxen vor Plagioklas.Alle Gabbros, einschließich der primitivsten Peridotite, sind an LREE und inkompatiblen Elementen angereichert. Die berechnete Zusammensetzung des Ausgangsmagmas, das im Gleichgewicht mit dem primitivsten Troktolit steht, weist hohe La/Yb, La/Nb, Ti/Y and niedrige Rb/Ba auf. Basaltische Dykes, die die Gabbros durchsetzen zeigen ähnliche Elementverhältnisse. Derartige Zusammensetzungen sind untypisch für astenosphärische Schmelzen und belegen, daß die Anreicherung an inkompatiblen Elementen nicht einfach nur mit geringen Aufschmelzungsraten zu erklären ist. Auf Grund der Isotopendaten (Nd_i 3.4 to -4.6,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶ Sr_i 0.7038–0.7065) kann these Anreicherung auch nicht leicht mit Krustenkontamination erklärt werden. Vielmehr wird eine angereicherte, lithosphärische Mantelquelle vermutet. Publizierte Daten an Mantelxenolithen von tertiären Vulkanen zeigen sehr ähnliche isotopische und geochemische Zusammensetzungen and belegen these Hypothese.Gemeinsam mit A-Typ Graniten und untergeordnet, vorkommenden, vulkanischen Gesteinen sind die Gabbros Teil einer hochtemperierten bimodalen, magmatischen Serie, die den Adelaide Fold Belt postdeformativ, während der kambro-ordovizischen delamerischen Orogenese, intrudierten. Das Vorkommen solcher Magmen ist problematisch, da die Präsenz dicker, orogen gebildeter Lithosphäre die Möglichkeit der Dekompressions-Aufschmelzung der Astenosphäre stark vermindert. Eine mögliche Lösung dieses Dilemmas ist, daß konvektives Ausdünnen des lithosphärischen Mantels unterhalb der Orogenzone das Aufschmelzen von hydratisierten, angereicherten Regionen innerhalb der Lithosphäre förderte. Dieses Modell bringt die Beobachtungen, daß die Gabbros einerseits eine lithosphärische Signatur zeigen, andererseits aber während der Hebungsphase und am Ende des Deformationsgeschehens intrudierten, in Einklang.

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With 15 Figures