Deterioration Index (DI): a suggested criterion for assessing the health of coral communities

The extensive deterioration of coral reefs worldwide highlights the importance of creating efficient monitoring methods to best assess their state of health. At present, several suggested parameters serve such indicators. None of these, however, is well accepted as reliably representing reef community health. In the present study we examine a new approach based on the ratio between mortality and recruitment rates of branching corals, which we term 'Deterioration Index' (DI). It aims at providing a quantitative indication of the state of health of reef-building coral communities. The method was developed and tested on 16 coral communities on artificially laid rocks along the coast of Eilat, Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba). In contrast to frequently used indices (i.e. mortality rate, abundance and species richness), which did not demonstrate a consistent result in comparing disturbed vs. undisturbed coral communities, the DI revealed significant differences between these communities. Our results suggest that the use of the DI may enable the detection of disturbed coral communities in one instance monitoring, where the other parameters had failed. The DI, therefore, may provide a comparable quantitative assessment of the deterioration process and its intensity in a coral community. We propose the DI approach as an efficient and applicable tool for coral reef monitoring.     

Total and subcellular distribution of trace elements in the liver of a mother-fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli)

Total and subcellular hepatic Zn, Cu, Se, Mn, V, Hg, Cd, and Ag were determined in a mother-fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Except for higher fetal Cu concentration, all maternal elements were higher. Elements existed mostly in the cytosol of both animals except in the case of maternal Ag in the microsome and fetal Cu and Ag in the nuclei and mitochondria. In the maternal cytosol, Zn, Mn, Hg, and Ag were present in the high-molecular-weight substances (HMW); Se and V were present in the low-molecular-weight substances (LMW); Cu and Cd were mostly sequestered by metallothionein (MT). In the fetal cytosol, Zn, Se, Mn, Hg, Cd, and Ag were present in the HMW and V in the LMW, while Cu and Ag were mostly associated with MT. MT isoforms were characterized using the HPLC/ICP-MS. Two and four obvious peaks appeared in the maternal and fetal MT fractions, respectively. The highest elemental ion intensities were at a retention time of 7.8 min for the mother, and for the fetus the peak elemental ion intensities occurred at a retention time of 4.3 min, suggesting that different MT isoforms may be involved in elemental accumulation in maternal and fetal hepatocytosols.     

Nutrient enrichment caused by in situ fish farms at Eilat, Red Sea is detrimental to coral reproduction

Recent studies report conflicting results concerning the effects of eutrophication on coral reproduction. The present study examines reproductive effort in the brooding coral Stylophora pistillata exposed to chronic eutrophication caused by in situ fish cages (FC) in the northern Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba). Histological studies of 20 S. pistillata colonies transplanted to each of two study sites, one close to the nutrient enriched FC site and the other at a reference site (IUI), 8 km southwest of the FC site, show that, overall, corals from the FC site have a significantly higher percentage of polyps containing oocytes and testes than corals from the IUI site. However, average oocyte size and the percentage of oocytes reaching the size at which fertilization occurs (i.e., >200 microm) were both significantly greater in colonies at the IUI site compared to the FC site. As the reproductive season progressed, colonies at the IUI site exhibited a decrease in the percentage of polyps containing oocytes, concomitant with an increase in the number of polyps containing planulae, indicating successful development of oocytes into planulae. In contrast, in colonies at the FC site oocyte numbers were greatest at the end of the reproductive season, and overall, numbers of planulae were significantly lower compared with the IUI colonies, suggesting relative failure of oocyte maturation, fertilization and ensuing larval development. The significantly higher lipid content found during the reproduction season in IUI colonies compared with FC colonies corroborates this assertion. This data strongly suggest that nutrients released from the fish farms have adverse effects on successful production of larvae of S. pistillata. In view of the recent severe deterioration of the coral reefs of Eilat and their present critical state of health, the only chance for their renewal is the use of immediate, prudent and rational protection measures against all man-made perturbations.     

P／T之交一个大量缺氧的分层洋的发育及其水体的短暂大规模混合作…

通过研究日本丹波地体Ｓａｓａｙａｍａ剖面和秩父地体Ｔｅｎｊｉｎｍａｒｕ剖面，获得了全岩硫化物的系统硫同位素资料。这两条剖面跨越Ｐ／Ｔ界线，以燧石为主、为连续远洋沉积层序。Ｐ／Ｔ界线以硅质页岩和黑色碳质泥岩组合为特征，黑色碳质泥岩外貌与世界广布的Ｋ／Ｔ界线粘土岩相似。     

雨雪对大气中硝酸蒸气的清除作用

本文在一些近似条件下推导出雨和雪对大气中HNO_3蒸气的湿清除系数,它们可代表有弱上升气流的大雨带或锋面系统中的平均清除,因此可用于区域模式或中尺度模式中。这些系数与冬季降水采样的离子成分观测一致,表明雪对HNO_3蒸气的清除比雨更有效。     

1946年南海地震的同震滑动分布及该地震引起的无震滑动

由海啸波形的反演估算了1946年南海地震(Mw8．3)断层面上的同震滑动分布。比以前的研究(Satake，1993)有以下3个方面的进展：(1)使用了大量的较小次级断层；(2)次级断层更拟合板块的几何形状；(3)应用了更详尽的探测数据。反演的结果表明，实测波形和合成波形间的一致性比以前的研究有极大改善。在四国近海震源区西半部，在闭锁区下倾端附近发生了约6m的大滑动。上倾或浅部的滑动很小，说明该地区为弱的地震耦合。在纪伊半岛近海震源区东半部的约3m的大滑动延伸到整个闭锁区。由大地测量数据(Sagiyaand Thatcher，1999)估计了上板块八字形断层上的大滑动，对于解释海啸波形并不需要这样大的滑动，表明这些大的滑动是无震滑动。板块界面下倾端上的两个滑动分布，一个是由大地测量数据得到的，而另一个是由海啸波形得到的，除了在四国室户角下的滑动外，两个滑动分布都相当一致。据此来看，无震滑动也发生在室户角下部的板块交界处。     

Water quality assessment using satellite-derived chlorophyll-a within the European directives, in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

The implementation of water quality European Directives requires an intensification of water quality monitoring, within the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone. Remote sensing technologies can provide a valuable tool for frequent, synoptic, water-quality observations, over large areas. The aim of this study is to assess the ecological status of Basque coastal water bodies using satellite imagery from MODIS sensor, together with optical and chlorophyll-ain situ measurements. Thus, sea surface satellite-derived chl-a algorithms, the OC3 M, OC5 and a Local empirical algorithm, were compared against in situ measurements using satellite in situ match-ups, 90th Percentile (P90) monthly values for the 2005-2010 period. The OC5 algorithm corresponded most accurately with in situ measurements performed in the area, hence, it was selected. A P90 chlorophyll-a map was created with this algorithm to apply the classification scheme required by the directives. The classification of water bodies, based upon satellite-derived chlorophyll-a, could improve considerably the assessment of water quality.     

Groundwater dynamics of Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

Geoelectric and hydrologic surveys during spring tides revealed the spatiotemporal distribution of groundwater quality produced by tidal forcing in Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu. The observed low resistivity showed that saline water largely immersed the surficial Holocene aquifer, indicating that there is no thick freshwater lens in Fongafale Islet, unlike in other atoll islands of comparable size. Half of the islet was constructed by reclaiming the original swamp with porous, highly permeable coral blocks; this reclaimed area should not be considered as part of the islet width for calculation of the expected thickness of the freshwater lens. The degree of aquifer salinization depends on the topographic characteristics and the hydrologic controls on the inland propagation of the tidal forcing. Large changes in bulk resistivity and the electrical conductivity of groundwater from wells indicate that periodic salinization in phase with the semidiurnal tides was occurring widely, especially in areas at lower elevation than the high-tide level and in reclaimed areas with high permeability. Thin sheets of nearly fresh and brackish water were observed in the surficial aquifer in areas above the high-tide level and in taro swamps, respectively. The thinness of the brackish and freshwater sheets suggests that the taro swamps and the fresh groundwater resources of the islet are highly vulnerable to salinization from anticipated sea-level rise. An understanding of the inherent geologic and topographic features of an atoll is necessary to evaluate the groundwater resources of the atoll and assess the vulnerability of its water resources to climate change.