Environmental hypoxia as a metabolic constraint on fish: the case of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

Hypoxia is known to provoke a wide range of effects on aquatic animals. Here we use laboratory and field data on Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, to illustrate that many of these responses can be explained within the metabolic scope (MS) framework, i.e. taking into account the directive and limiting effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the ability of animals to acquire energy for growth and activity. A MS model for cod shows that scope for activity (swimming, feeding, etc.) is proportional to DO and becomes nil, jeopardising survival, when DO is < approximately 20% air saturation. Laboratory studies have confirmed this lethal threshold and demonstrated that growth and food ingestion were significantly reduced below 70% sat. This loss of appetite has been linked to a reduction of the peak value and an increase in duration of postprandial metabolism, in agreement with the MS model. Dwindling MS during hypoxia imposes an upper limit to swimming performance. Cod may also opt to reduce spontaneous swimming activity to spare oxygen for other activities such as digestion. In the Kattegat, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern Canada, cod completely avoid waters where their MS is near zero. Furthermore, cod density increases exponentially with DO up to approximately 70% sat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Although hypoxia results in other direct and indirect effects as well, the MS framework allows modelling of many of the responses to hypoxia for individual cod that ought to be reflected at the population and community levels. The MS framework is also useful to compare species responses. We show that the impact of hypoxia on MS is similar, when expressed as a proportion of MS in normoxia, in cod, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), the common sole (Solea solea) and turbot (Psetta maxima). Data are required for other species to evaluate how general these findings are.     

评估空间—发生率—震级地震预测的基于似然的检验

区域地震似然模型(RELM)工作组的5年实验是设计用来比较预测加州及附近各纬度-经度-震级单元地震发生率的若干有希望的方法。这种预测模式被作为世界范围内其他地震可预测性试验的蓝本,因此考虑如何评估这种预测的性能是很重要的。最近采用的两个试验都基于给定预测情况下观测到的地震分布的概率,一个测试比较了空间-发生率-震级单元的观测值和预测值,另一个测试仅仅比较了预测的发生率和观测地震的数目。在本文中,我们讨论了目前关于发生率预测的微小的缺陷,我们建议采用另外两个测试分别进行空间-发生率-震级预测的空间和震级分量的预测。为了更好地说明问题,我们考虑了区域地震似然模型预测和进行区域地震似然模型实验的前半期观测到的地震分布。我们得出空间—发生率—震级预测好像是和观测地震的分布相一致,尽管空间预测和观测地震的空间分布是不一致的,我们建议这些新的测试应该被用于提供更详细的地震预测评估。我们也讨论了每个基于似然测试的统计学功效以及基于似然测试的结果的稳定性(相对于地震目录的不确定性)。     

墨西哥城地震预警系统的启示

2017年墨西哥普埃布拉发生7.1级破坏性地震,这次地震为评估公众如何感知和使用墨西哥城的地震预警系统提供了一次良好的检验机会。     

由面波快速稳健反演地震矩张量的经验方法

给出一种稳健反演方法(也称迭代加权最小二乘IRLS),该方法对分离数据点极不敏感,因为它可以自动剔除异常的数据点,不需要人工仔细检查和控制数据质量。为了使用Tarantola-Valette的迭代广义离散反演方法进行稳健反演,将基于残差和信噪比的不同判据引入到协方差矩阵(作用相当于权重函数)中。在实际应用中,这个算法的作用相当于震源机制初步测定(PDFM),后者在海啸预警中用于快速估计强震震源参数。要反演的输入数据是长周期面波的频谱,输出的计算结果为地震矩张量,根据这些张量获得地震的震源几何形状和主应力轴。这种算法可以应用于任何非线性(迭代)反演计算中,解决污染数据集的分离数据点的问题。     

Actually achieving marine sustainability demands a radical re-think in approach, not 'more of the same'

The UK is committed to meeting a series of ‘high-level marine objectives’ which are required to satisfy national obligations and to meet international commitments for the marine environment. There are more than 16 such international high-level policy driven obligations and commitments, together with more than 18 European and more than 12 of national origin. In the UK, there is an assumption that the current and planned monitoring will provide evidence to demonstrate achievement against these high-level objectives.     

利用斜井钻孔破裂观测值约束深井和深矿中的全应力张量——在两个复杂实例中的应用

经过15年时间我们发展出一套技术,即利用钻孔井壁的非致命性破裂,包括压性破裂、钻探诱发的张性破裂以及与切穿井孔断层的滑动有关的应力扰动观测值,来确定任意向井和钻孔中的全应力张量。这些技术已延伸应用到石油工业中,也应用到矿山开采的钻孔岩芯取样中,以取得开采区周围应力集中影响的区域内外的应力状态。条件允许时,可用水压致裂法估计最小主应力值,但不能估计最大水平主应力值。作者在文中先回顾了这套方法的概念,然后对两个复杂实例进行了研究。第1个实例涉及到圣安德烈斯断层深部观测站（San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth,SAFOD）计划第1阶段钻探应力状态的确定,SAFOD计划是一个钻穿加州中部圣安德烈斯断层的科学钻井计划。第2个实例涉及到确定南非一个极深矿周围的地壳应力状态。这些研究表明,在相当大的深度范围内,斜井钻孔破裂观测值与应力大小和方向是一致的。     

Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of the timeline of chronic exposure of Barrow's goldeneyes to residual Exxon Valdez oil

We examined hepatic EROD activity, as an indicator of CYP1A induction, in Barrow’s goldeneyes captured in areas oiled during the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and those from nearby unoiled areas. We found that average EROD activity differed between areas during 2005, although the magnitude of the difference was reduced relative to a previous study from 1996/1997, and we found that areas did not differ by 2009. Similarly, we found that the proportion of individuals captured from oiled areas with elevated EROD activity (?2 times unoiled average) declined from 41% in winter 1996/1997 to 10% in 2005 and 15% in 2009. This work adds to a body of literature describing the timelines over which vertebrates were exposed to residual Exxon Valdez oil and indicates that, for Barrow’s goldeneyes in Prince William Sound, exposure persisted for many years with evidence of substantially reduced exposure by 2 decades after the spill.     

Evaluation of heavy metals and arsenic speciation discharged by the industrial activity on the Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain

This study reports the annual amount of heavy metals discharged by industrial activity into the estuary of the Ría of Huelva (SW Spain). The findings showed that the discharged metals found in highest amounts were Fe (11 t y⁻¹), Zn (3.4 t y⁻¹) and Mo (0.88 t y⁻¹). There were other metals with high pollutant charge, such as Ti (232 kg y⁻¹), As (228 kg y⁻¹), Ni (195 kg y⁻¹), Pb (100 kg y⁻¹), Cr (39 kg y⁻¹) and Cd (33 kg y⁻¹). These results were compared with pollutants transported via the Tinto and Odiel rivers from abandoned mining activities in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), and it was deduced that the amounts spilled exclusively by industries were less than 1% in relation to the total discharge. Hence, the treatment of residues from the IPB should be the priority goal to improve water quality in the estuary.     

Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches

To understand the spatial variation in concentrations and compositions of organic micropollutants in marine plastic debris and their sources, we analyzed plastic fragments (∼10 mm) from the open ocean and from remote and urban beaches. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), alkylphenols and bisphenol A were detected in the fragments at concentrations from 1 to 10,000 ng/g. Concentrations showed large piece-to-piece variability. Hydrophobic organic compounds such as PCBs and PAHs were sorbed from seawater to the plastic fragments. PCBs are most probably derived from legacy pollution. PAHs showed a petrogenic signature, suggesting the sorption of PAHs from oil slicks. Nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and PBDEs came mainly from additives and were detected at high concentrations in some fragments both from remote and urban beaches and the open ocean.     

The impact of the herbicide atrazine on growth and photosynthesis of seagrass, Zostera marina (L.), seedlings

The impact of the widely used herbicide atrazine on seedling growth and photosynthesis of eelgrass was determined. The long-term impact of the herbicide atrazine (1, 10 and 100 μg/L) on growth of eelgrass Zostera marina (L.) seedlings, maintained in outdoor aquaria, was monitored over 4 weeks. Exposure to 10 μg/L atrazine resulted in significantly lower plant fresh weight and total chlorophyll concentration and up to 86.67% mortality at the 100 μg/L concentration. Short-term photosynthetic stress on eelgrass seedlings was determined and compared with adult eelgrass using chlorophyll fluorescence. The effective quantum yield in eelgrass seedlings was significantly depressed at all atrazine concentrations (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 μg/L) even within 2 h and remained at a lower level than for adult plants for each concentration. These results indicate that atrazine presents a potential threat to seagrass seedling functioning and that the impact is much higher than for adult plants.