Validation of age and growth of the Picasso triggerfish (Balistidae: Rhinecanthus aculeatus) from Okinawa Island, Japan, using sectioned vertebrae and dorsal spines

To understand age and growth of the Picasso triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus, monthly sampling was conducted from February 2010 to October 2011 on the subtropical Okinawa Island, Japan, using trammel net and speargun. Fish were measured by weight (W) and standard length (SL) and age was determined by examining thin-sections of the first dorsal spine and the second abdominal vertebra. A total of 352 fish were caught ranging from 20.9?mm to 209.5?mm (SL). Marginal increment analysis indicated that translucent rings were deposited annually during the colder season from October to January. The relationship of observed SL and age was described by the original form of the von Bertalanffy growth equation. Male and female growth models were significantly different. Overall growth was rapid during the first 2.5?years for both sexes, thereafter growth curves diverged. Males consequently reached larger sizes and greater ages. Maximum age for males and females was 13.5 and 9.5?years, respectively. Regression models of somatic growth (SL) as a function of vertebral and spine radii were significantly correlated (r?=?0.98 and r?=?0.96, respectively). According to the weight?Clength relationship, growth in R. aculeatus was negative allometric. Small recruits (SL?<?40?mm) appeared in high numbers in shallow coastal areas starting from August. This is the first record of age and growth for R. aculeatus. Our data suggest that the Picasso triggerfish is a moderately long-lived balistid and that the observed sex-specific growth pattern is driven by the fish??s polygynous mating system and different reproduction strategies of males and females.     

Concentrations of 222 Rn, Its Short-Lived Daughters And 212 Pb And Their Ratios Under Complex Atmospheric Conditions And Topography

Atmospheric activity concentrations of ²¹²Pb and short-lived ²²²Rndaughters, together with meteorological elements, have been observed continuously atthree sites at Kamisaibara Village in Japan. In addition, atmospheric activity concentrationof ²²²Rn, equilibrium-equivalent concentration of ²²²Rn and conditionsof the lower atmosphere were observed for three intensive observation periods at Akawase,one of the three sites in Kamisaibara Village. The equilibrium-equivalent concentration of²²²Rn is almost the same as the atmospheric activity concentration of short-lived²²²Rn daughters.The activity concentrations of ²¹²Pb and the short-lived ²²²Rn daughtersand their ratio were low in the daytime owing to convective mixing, and high at nightowing to the surface-based inversion during periods of no precipitation. Their variationshave several patterns corresponding to the scale of the drainage wind or weak mixing.Mechanical mixing due to strong winds through both day and night during the first andsecond observation periods made the atmospheric activity concentrations of ²¹²Pb and the short-lived ²²²Rn daughters continuously low. However, their ratios werecontinuously high during the first period yet continuously low during the second period.This difference can be explained by the effect ofextraction of ²²⁰Rn and ²²²Rndue to strong winds and snow cover. There were also cases in which the ratio of theatmospheric activity concentration of ²¹²Pb to that of the short-lived ²²²Rndaughters at night was equal to or less than the ratio in the daytime. Thisinverse trend, asin the periods of no precipitation mentioned above, is considered to be due to near-neutralconditions on these nights.We find a difference in the ratio of the equilibrium-equivalent concentration of²²²Rn (the activity concentration of short-lived ²²²Rn daughters) tothe activity concentration of ²²²Rn during the first observation period and thatduring the second. The difference can be explained by snow cover on the ground. Wealso find differences among the ratios of the activity concentration of the short-lived²²²Rn daughters to that of ²²²Rn during the three observation periods.These differences can be explained by the submergence of paddy fields.     

Sulfur isotopic composition of the magnetite-series and ilmenite-series granitoids in Japan

Sulfur isotopic composition has been measured on 30 granitoids and 11 gabbroids from the Cretaceous and Tertiary granitic terranes of Japan. The two series of granitoids, the magnetite-series and ilmenite-series, defined by Ishihara (1977), show two specific isotope trends. The magnetite-series granioids all have positive (su34)S (CDT) values from +1 to +9, while the ilmenite-series rocks are dominated by negative values between –11 and –1. The trend in the ilmenite-series is consistent with the thesis that the magma has been influenced by light biogenic sulfur from the continental crust. The inferred large scale magma-crust interaction in the ilmenite-series granitoids indicates that the emplacement of this series of magma has been governed by a stoping mechanism.In contrast, the magnetite-series granitoids have little if any evidence for significant magma-crust interaction, indicating that the intrusion of this series of magma may have been more or less of fissure-filling type. Their trend towards positive (su3 4)S values (average +5) argues for the introduction of some heavy sulfur, probably of seawater origin, into the mantle derived sulfur. This is most likely to occur in an arctrench system by the subduction of an oceanic plate which accompanies the sulfate-bearing pelagic sediments.The isotopic data of gabbroids, mostly between –1 and +3, are close to the commonly assumed value for mantle sulfur. Nevertheless, the gabbroids from the magnetite-series granitic terranes tend to have higher (su34)S value than those from the ilmenite-series belts. It is inferred that the factors controlling the isotope characteristics of the granitoid sulfur have also been operative in these grabbroids at least to some extent.     

Comparison of carbon cycle between the western Pacific subarctic and subtropical time-series stations: highlights of the K2S1 project

A comparative study of ecosystems and biogeochemistry at time-series stations in the subarctic gyre (K2) and subtropical region (S1) of the western North Pacific Ocean (K2S1 project) was conducted between 2010 and 2013 to collect essential data about the ecosystem and biological pump in each area and to provide a baseline of information for predicting changes in biologically mediated material cycles in the future. From seasonal chemical and biological observations, general oceanographic settings were verified and annual carbon budgets at both stations were determined. Annual mean of phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity at the oligotrophic station S1 were comparable to that at the eutrophic station K2. Based on chemical/physical observations and numerical simulations, the likely “missing nutrient source” was suggested to include regeneration, meso-scale eddy driven upwelling, meteorological events, and eolian inputs in addition to winter vertical mixing. Time-series observation of carbonate chemistry revealed that ocean acidification (OA) was ongoing at both stations, and that the rate of OA was faster at S1 than at K2 although OA at K2 is more critical for calcifying organisms.     

SELENE project status

SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) project started as a joint mission of the former ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) and the former NASDA (National Space Development Agency: the two organizations were merged into JAXA in 2002) of Japan in 1998. The launch target is rescheduled for 2006 due to delay of completion of launch vehicle, H-IIA. The SELENE project is now under a sustained design phase. The flight model components were manufactured, and the interface tests between the bus-system and the mission instruments were completed by the end of March 2004. The functional checks and calibration for the flight model components are being carried out at present. From the beginning of 2005, the final assembly tests will start.     

Origin and fate of particulate organic matter in the southern Beaufort Sea – Amundsen Gulf region,Canadian Arctic

To establish the relative importance of terrigenous and marine organic matter in the southern Beaufort Sea, we measured the concentrations and the stable isotopic compositions of organic carbon and total nitrogen in sediments and in settling particles intercepted by sediment traps. The organic carbon content of surface sediment in the Chukchi and southern Beaufort Seas ranged from 0.6 to 1.6% dry wt., without a clear geographical pattern. The C_ORG:N_TOT ratio ranged from 7.0 to 10.4 and did not vary significantly downcore at any one station. Values of δ¹³C_ORG and δ¹⁵N_TOT in the sediment samples were strongly correlated, with the highest values, indicative of a more marine contribution, in the Amundsen Gulf. In contrast, the organic matter content, elemental (C_ORG:N_TOT ratio) and isotopic (δ¹³C_ORG and δ¹⁵N_TOT) composition of the settling particles was different from and much more variable than in the bottom sediments. The isotopic signature of organic matter in the Beaufort Sea is well constrained by three distinct end-members: a labile marine component produced in situ by planktonic organisms, a refractory marine component, the end product of respiration and diagenesis, and a refractory terrigenous component. A three-component mixing model explains the scatter observed in the stable isotope signatures of the sediment trap samples and accommodates an apparent two-component mixing model of the organic matter in sediments. The suspended matter in the water column contains organic matter varying from essentially labile and marine to mostly refractory and terrigenous. As it settles through the water column, the labile marine organic matter is degraded, and its original stable isotope signature changes towards the signature of the marine refractory component. This process continues in the bottom sediment with the result that the sedimentary organic matter becomes dominated by the refractory terrigenous and marine components.     

Surface photometry of simpleHii regions

We have carried out surface photometry of six simpleHii regions which are characterized by the existence of an exciting star earlier than B0, and a nearly round shape. On the basis of on balibrated image data and adopting a spherical model, we derive the distributions of gas and dust densities in theHii regions.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.On leave from the Bosscha Observatory, Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia.     

The influence of multiple diffraction on the space group determination of orthopyroxene,spodumene, low omphacite and pigeonite

Forbidden reflections of some pyroxenes described as having a lower symmetry than Pbca or C2/c have been examined, mainly using the detailed ψ-scanning method of the four-circle automated diffractometer. All reflections violating the systematic absences of Pbca orthopyroxene, C2/c spodumene, P2/n omphacite and P2₁/c pigeonite were found to be due to the Umweganregung process of multiple diffraction; the Umweganregung peaks observed for the ψ azimuth were indexed in terms of a four-circle geometry. Thus, the space groups of orthopyroxene, α spodumene, low omphacite and low pigeonite were confirmed to be Pbca, C2/c, P2/n and P2₁/c, respectively.