东沙海区海丘发现多底栖方式深水珊瑚

东沙岛周围海区发育众多深水(200~2 000 m)海丘,其中一些显示了明显的泥火山活动特征。近年的取样调查在多个底质差异明显的海丘都发现了非常丰富的深水珊瑚。为什么这些海丘上深水珊瑚兴盛尚不清楚。根据样品形态分析,初步识别的珊瑚既有以基座紧密固着于碳酸盐岩结核硬底的Madrepora oculate(多眼筛孔珊瑚)、Lochmaeotrochus(灌丛珊瑚)、Enallopsammia(突出海沙珊瑚)、Solenosmilia variabilis、Dendrophyllia(树珊瑚)、 Bamboo Coral (竹节珊瑚)、Golden Gorgonians (金柳珊瑚),还新发现有以鸭蹼状凹凸不平形底壳贴附于海底砂泥级生物碎屑的Desmophyllum dianthus(葵珊瑚)和尖底浅植于碎屑沉积中的Flabellum(扇珊瑚)、Crispatotrochus(卷轮珊瑚)、Balanophyllia(栎珊瑚),还有饼形、杯形能在软质海底缓慢自由移动的Fungiacyathus(蕈杯珊瑚)、Deltocyathusi(角杯珊瑚),指示在底质硬度及海流强度迥异的东沙海丘环境中有多种属珊瑚生长。大量具有机动性的深水珊瑚栖居于弱水动力海底,应更多依赖于栖居地本地而非海流带来的丰富食物,意味着东沙海区的泥火山活动泄漏的烃类流体可能是深水珊瑚食物的主要来源。泥火山的流体活动与珊瑚的兴盛可能具有相互指示意义。     

Facies architecture of a Lower Cretaceous coral-rudist patch reef, Arizona

The Lower Cretaceous Mural Limestone marks the maximum marine incursion into southeast Arizona during Aptian-Albian time and records the middle Cretaceous transition from coral-dominated to rudist-bivalve dominated reefs. Upper Mural Limestone facies are most often dominated by corals. However, rudists form significant frameworks at some localities, one of which is described in this paper. The paleoenvironmental distribution of three potential reef-builders (corals, rudists, and ‘oysters’) were studied at this patch reef locality. Corals built the framework of the inner reef core. The rudist Petalodontia initially gained a foothold in sheltered areas among corals and subsequently built a framework in the outer reef core. Caprinid rudists formed mounds in the outer reef to back reef areas. The rudists Toucasia and Monopleura and the oyster-like bivalve Chondrodonta formed beds or were scattered in the reef-flank and shelf lagoon sediments and did not contribute to the reef framework.Upper Mural Limestone reefs are important examples of the coexistence of corals and rudists during this middle Cretaceous faunal transition period. This study supports the idea that rudist-bivalves initially colonized protected back-reef areas early in the Cretaceous and only later in the Cretaceous did rudists dominate reef frameworks.     

The evolution of modern corals and their early history

Scleractinians are a group of calcified anthozoan corals, many of which populate shallow-water tropical to subtropical reefs. Most of these corals calcify rapidly and their success on reefs is related to a symbiotic association with zooxanthellae. These one-celled algal symbionts live in the endodermal tissues of their coral host and are thought responsible for promoting rapid calcification. The evolutionary significance of this symbiosis and the implications it holds for explaining the success of corals is of paramount importance. Scleractinia stands out as one of the few orders of calcified metazoans that arose in Triassic time, long after a greater proliferation of calcified metazoan orders in the Paleozoic. The origin of this coral group, so important in reefs of today, has remained an unsolved problem in paleontology. The idea that Scleractinia evolved from older Paleozoic rugose corals that somehow survived the Permian mass extinction persists among some schools of thought. Paleozoic scleractiniamorphs also have been presented as possible ancestors. The paleontological record shows the first appearance of fossils currently classified within the order Scleractinia to be in the Middle Triassic. These earliest Scleractinia provide a picture of unexpectedly robust taxonomic diversity and high colony integration. Results from molecular biology support a polyphyletic evolution for living Scleractinia and the molecular clock, calibrated against the fossil record, suggests that two major groups of ancestors could extend back to late Paleozoic time. The idea that Scleractinia were derived from soft-bodied, “anemone-like” ancestors that survived the Permian mass extinction, has become a widely considered hypothesis. The 14-million year Mesozoic coral gap stands as a fundamental obstacle to verification of many of these ideas. However, this obstacle is not a barrier for derivation of scleractinians from anemone-like, soft-bodied ancestors. The hypothesis of the ephemeral, “naked coral”, presents the greatest potential for solution of the enigma of the origin of scleractinians. It states that different groups of soft-bodied, unrelated “anemone-like” anthozoans gave rise to various calcified scleractinian-like corals through aragonitic biomineralization. Although there is evidence for this phenomenon being more universal in the mid-Triassic interval, following a lengthy Early Triassic post-extinction perturbation, it appears to have occurred at least three other times prior to this interval. This idea suggests that, because of ephemeral characteristics, the skeleton does not represent a clade of zoantharian evolution but instead represents a grade of organization. In the fossil record, skeletons may have appeared and disappeared at different times as some clades reverted to soft-bodied existence and these phenomena could account for notable gaps in the taxonomic and fossil record. A fuller understanding and possible solution to the problem of the origin of modern corals may be forthcoming. However, it will require synthesis of diverse kinds of data and an integration of findings from paleobiology, stratigraphy, molecular biology, carbonate geochemistry, biochemistry and invertebrate physiology.     

中国及邻区石炭纪构造古地理及生物古地理

本文包括3部分:（1）扼要回顾了中国及邻区晚海西阶段的地质构造背景和构造古地理特征。根据全球构造活动论和地壳发展阶段论的观点,把中国及邻区晚海西阶段的大地构造单元分为4个构造域,10个亚构造域。（2）论述中国和世界石炭纪生物古地理分区。根据四射珊瑚和腕足动物群分析,把全球早石炭世生物古地理区系分为两个生物大区、6个生物区和8个生物亚区。在中国境内对生物亚区内部生物地方中心的分异作了进一步划分。（3）简述中国石炭纪古地理和某些有关的沉积矿产。中国石炭系矿产除了重要的煤以外,还有石膏矿、铝土矿和不同类型的铁矿。这些沉积矿产的分布主要受到古气候、古地理和构造条件的控制。     

柴达木盆地北缘石灰沟晚石炭世的四射珊瑚

青海省柴达木盆地北缘晚石炭世地层出露完好，四射珊瑚化方丰富。本文研究了该区晚石炭世四射珊瑚２６属，４９种和亚种，１０个未定种。自下而上建立了５个四射珊瑚组合带：１Ｌｉｔｈｏｓｔｒｏｔｉｏｎｅｌｌａ－Ｔｈｙｓａｎｏｐｈｙｌｌｕｍ组合带；２Ｃｇａｔｈａｘｏｍｉａ－Ｒｏｔｉｐｈｙｌｌｕｍ组合带；３Ｐｒｏｔｏｉｖａｎｏｖｉａ－Ａｍｐｌｅｘｕｓ组合带；４ＮｅｏｋｏｎｉｃｋｏＰｈｙｌｌｕｍ－Ｋｏｎｉｎｃｋｏｐｈｇｌｌａｍ组合带；５Ｐｓｅｕｄｏｚａｐｈｒｅｔｏｉｄｅｓ－Ｌｏｐｈｏｃａｒｉｎｏｐｈｙｌｌａｍ组合带。     

The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin

The Magellan mound province is one of the three known provinces of carbonate mounds or cold-water coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. It has been studied in detail using a large and varied data set: 2D and 3D seismic data, sidescan sonar imagery and video data collected during ROV deployment have been used to describe the mounds in terms of origin, growth processes and burial. The aim of this paper is to present the Magellan mounds and their setting in an integrated, holistic way. More than 1,000 densely spaced and mainly buried mounds have been identified in the area. They all seem to be rooted on one seismic reflection, suggesting a sudden mound start-up. Their size and spatial distribution characteristics are presented, together with the present-day appearance of the few mounds that reach the seabed. The underlying geology has been studied by means of fault analysis and numerical basin modelling in an attempt to identify possible hydrocarbon migration pathways below or in the surroundings of the Magellan mounds. Although conclusive evidence concerning the processes of mound initiation proves to be elusive, the results of both fault analysis and 2D numerical modelling failed to identify, with confidence, any direct pathways for focused hydrocarbon flow to the Magellan province. Diffuse seepage however may have taken place, as drainage area modelling suggests a possible link between mound position and structural features in the Hovland-Magellan area. During mound development and growth, the interplay of currents and sedimentation seems to have been the most important control. Mounds which could not keep pace with the sedimentation rates were buried, and on the few mounds which maintained growth, only a few corals survive at present.     

Ecological restoration in the deep sea: Desiderata

An era of expanding deep-ocean industrialization is before us, with policy makers establishing governance frameworks for sustainable management of deep-sea resources while scientists learn more about the ecological structure and functioning of the largest biome on the planet. Missing from discussion of the stewardship of the deep ocean is ecological restoration. If existing activities in the deep sea continue or are expanded and new deep-ocean industries are developed, there is need to consider what is required to minimize or repair resulting damages to the deep-sea environment. In addition, thought should be given as to how any past damage can be rectified. This paper develops the discourse on deep-sea restoration and offers guidance on planning and implementing ecological restoration projects for deep-sea ecosystems that are already, or are at threat of becoming, degraded, damaged or destroyed. Two deep-sea restoration case studies or scenarios are described (deep-sea stony corals on the Darwin Mounds off the west coast of Scotland, deep-sea hydrothermal vents in Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea) and are contrasted with on-going saltmarsh restoration in San Francisco Bay. For these case studies, a set of socio-economic, ecological, and technological decision parameters that might favor (or not) their restoration are examined. Costs for hypothetical restoration scenarios in the deep sea are estimated and first indications suggest they may be two to three orders of magnitude greater per hectare than costs for restoration efforts in shallow-water marine systems.     

Scleractinian coral communities of Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf

The abundance and health of scleractinian coral communities of Hormuz Island were investigated. For this purpose, we employed 20 m line intercept transects—12 in the intertidal zone and 15 subtidally to evaluate coral cover and community composition. The estimated dead coral coverage was 6.21%±0.81%, while live coral coverage was 16.93%±1.81%, considered as very poor. Totally, 12 genera were recorded, of which Porites with 11.9%±1.4% live cover was the dominant, while Goniopora had the least cover (0.07%±0.08%). Based on Mann-Whitney U-test, live coral coverage, dead coral coverage, algal coverage, cover of other benthic organisms and abiotic components showed significant univariate differences between zones (p<0.05). The Spearman correlation test between the abundance of biotic and abiotic components indicated significant negative correlation of live coral and sand with zoantharian and significant positive correlation of algae and other benthic organisms with rubble. The reef health indices used for the corals indicated that, in general, the environmental conditions were not suitable, which could be attributed to both natural and anthropogenic factors, the most important of which was zoantharian’ overgrowth on the scleractinian corals in this region.     

Mesophotic coral buildups in a prodelta setting (Late Eocene,southern Pyrenees,Spain): a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic system

Lower Priabonian coral bioherms and biostromes, encased in prodelta marls/clays, occur in the Aínsa‐Jaca piggyback basin, in the South Central Pyrenean zone. Detailed mapping of lithofacies and bounding surfaces onto photomosaics reveals the architecture of coral buildups. Coral lithosomes occur either isolated or amalgamated in larger buildups. Isolated lithosomes are 1 to 8 m thick and a few hundred metres wide; clay content within coral colonies is significant. Stacked bioherms form low‐relief buildups, commonly 20 to 30 m thick, locally up to 50 m. These bioherms are progressively younger to the west, following progradation of the deltaic complex. The lowermost skeletal‐rich beds consist of bryozoan floatstone with wackestone to packstone matrix, in which planktonic foraminifera are abundant and light‐related organisms absent. Basal coral biostromes, and the base of many bioherms, consist of platy‐coral colonies ‘floating’ in a fine‐grained matrix rich in branches of red algae. Corals with domal or massive shape, locally mixed with branching corals and phaceloid coral colonies, dominate buildup cores. These corals are surrounded by matrix and lack organic framework. The matrix consists of wackestone to packstone, locally floatstone, with conspicuous red algal and coral fragments, along with bryozoans, planktonic and benthonic foraminifera and locally sponges. Coral rudstone and skeletal packstone, with wackestone to packstone matrix, also occur as wedges abutting the buildup margins. Integrative analysis of rock textures, skeletal components, buildup anatomy and facies architecture clearly reveal that these coral buildups developed in a prodelta setting where shifting of delta lobes or rainfall cycles episodically resulted in water transparency that allowed zooxanthellate coral growth. The bathymetric position of the buildups has been constrained from the light‐dependent communities and lithofacies distribution within the buildups. The process‐product analysis used here reinforces the hypothesis that zooxanthellate corals thrived in mesophotic conditions at least during the Late Eocene and until the Late Miocene. Comparative analysis with some selected Upper Eocene coral buildups of the north Mediterranean area show similarities in facies, components and textures, and suggest that they also grew in relatively low light (mesophotic) and low hydrodynamic conditions.