Floating and fixed artificial habitats: Spatial and temporal patterns of benthic communities in a coral reef environment

While natural marine habitats with motion capabilities, e.g., kelps and seaweeds, have been studied alongside their associated fouling communities, little is known of the effect of motion on the communities of floating artificial habitats such as buoys, rafts, and pontoons, particularly in tropical systems. Hydrodynamic features greatly differ between floating and fixed artificial substrata, which in turn affect the structure of their associated communities. This study tested the hypothesis that floating and fixed artificial installations in a tropical reef system (Eilat, Red Sea) would support different benthic communities throughout space and time. Specifically, we examined differences in communities recruited onto settlement plates between floating and fixed installations deployed at three different sites, along a two-year monitoring period. The three sites exhibited distinct differences in species assemblages between the monitoring dates (6, 12, 18 and 24 months post deployment), mainly between the first and the last two dates. The average level of dissimilarity between floating and fixed installations increased over time at all sites. Over 50% of the dissimilarity between the floating and fixed installations resulted from five taxonomic groups i.e., bryozoans, bivalves, barnacles, sponges, including the amount of bare space on the settlement plates. The contribution of these groups to the dissimilarity changed both temporally within each site, and spatially among sites. The observed differences were related to the hydrodynamic characteristics of floating and fixed habitats, interacting with biotic features such as predation, successional processes and seasonality; and abiotic features including small-scale spatial changes, light, and position in the water column.     

Testing taxonomic resolution,data transformation and selection of species for monitoring macroalgae communities

The Water Framework and Habitats Directives require the evaluation of both the conservation and ecological status of macroalgae communities at water body or habitat level. However, assessments of macroalgal communities are highly time-consuming, both in terms of sampling effort and laboratory processing. These constraints have brought about their oversight in many marine monitoring programs, especially in subtidal environments. By using data from intertidal and subtidal macroalgae assemblages of Mouro Island (North coast of Spain) we wanted to identify possible cost-effective methods for monitoring this biological indicator, based on both high taxa levels and use of representative taxa. Multivariate analyses were applied using different data transformations. The results show that macroalgal communities are robust to aggregation to genus or even family level. Moreover, the outcomes show that transformation types introduce higher variation in the multivariate pattern of samples than the taxonomic level to which organisms are identified. Also, the study supports the use of representative taxa as a surrogate to overall community structure. Therefore, we conclude that a rapid-assessment by means of field evaluations, based on coverage of representative taxa, is a reliable alternative for the assessment of macroalgae status. In addition this procedure allows evaluation at a broader spatial scale (water body or habitat level) than traditional quantitative sampling procedure does.     

Light regime and components of turbidity in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon

The underwater light regime of a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Albufera des Grau, Balearic Islands) was studied during four years in order to characterise the spatial and temporal variations in the light attenuation coefficient (K) and to assess the relative contribution of the different water components to total light attenuation.     

Petroleum pollution in surface sediments of Daya Bay,South China,revealed by chemical fingerprinting of aliphatic and alicyclic hydrocarbons

Nine surface sediments collected from Daya Bay have been Soxhlet-extracted with 2:1 (v/v) dichloromethane-methanol. The non-aromatic hydrocarbon (NAH) fraction of solvent extractable organic matter (EOM) and some bulk geochemical parameters have been analyzed to determine petroleum pollution of the bay. The NAH content varies from 32 to 276 μg g⁻¹ (average 104 μg g⁻¹) dry sediment and accounts for 5.8–64.1% (average 41.6%) of the EOM. n-Alkanes with carbon number ranging from 15 to 35 are identified to be derived from both biogenic and petrogenic sources in varying proportions. The contribution of marine authigenic input to the sedimentary n-alkanes is lower than the allochthonous input based on the average n-C₃₁/n-C₁₉ alkane ratio. 25.6–46.5% of the n-alkanes, with a mean of 35.6%, are contributed by vascular plant wax. Results of unresolved complex mixture, isoprenoid hydrocarbons, hopanes and steranes also suggest possible petroleum contamination. There is strong evidence of a common petroleum contamination source in the bay.     

Composition,abundance, distribution and seasonality of larval fishes in the shallow nearshore of the proposed Greater Addo Marine Reserve,Algoa Bay,South Africa

The larval fish assemblage was investigated in the shallow, nearshore region of a proposed marine protected area in eastern Algoa Bay, temperate South Africa, prior to proclamation. Sampling was conducted at six sites along two different depth contours at ∼5 m and ∼15 m to assess shore association. Larvae were collected by means of stepped oblique bongo net tows deployed off a ski-boat, twice per season for 2 years between 2005 and 2007. In total, 6045 larval fishes were collected representing 32 families and 78 species. The Gobiidae, Cynoglossidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Sparidae were the dominant fish families. Catches varied significantly among seasons peaking in spring with a mean of ∼200 larvae/100 m³. Mean overall larval density was higher along the deeper contour, at ∼15 m (40 larvae/100 m³). The preflexion stage of development dominated catches at the ∼5 m (80%) and ∼15 m (73%) depth contours. Body lengths of Argyrosomus thorpei, Caffrogobius gilchristi, Diplodus capensis, Heteromycteris capensis and Solea turbynei, all estuary associated species, were larger at the shallow sites nearer to shore. Larvae of coastal species that produce benthic eggs dominated catches (75%) in the shallow sites (∼5 m) but were less abundant (32%) farther from shore at the deeper (∼15 m) sites. All developmental stages of D. capensis, Engraulis capensis, H. capensis, Sardinops sagax and two Pomadasys species were found in the study area. It appears that some species use the shallow nearshore as a nursery area.     

Nitrogen isotopic discrimination by water column nitrification in a shallow coastal environment

Temporal changes in nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) of the NO₃ ⁻ pool in the water column below the pycnocline in Ise Bay, Japan were investigated to evaluate the effect of nitrification on the change in the δ¹⁵N in the water column. The δ¹⁵N of NO₃ ⁻ in the lower layers varied from −8.5‰ in May to +8.4‰ in July in response to the development of seasonal hypoxia and conversion from NH₄ ⁺ to NO₃ ⁻. The significantly ¹⁵N-depleted NO₃ ⁻ in May most likely arose from nitrification in the water column. The calculated apparent isotopic discrimination for water column nitrification (ɛ_nit = δ¹⁵N_substrate − δ¹⁵N_product) was 24.5‰, which lies within the range of previous laboratory-based estimates. Though prominent deficits of NO₃ ⁻ from hypoxic bottom waters due to denitrification were revealed in July, the isotopic discrimination of denitrification in the sediments was low (ɛ_denit = ∼1‰). δ¹⁵N_NO3 in the hypoxic lower layer mainly reflects the isotopic effect of water column nitrification, given that water column nitrification is not directly linked with sedimentary denitrification and the effect of sedimentary denitrification on the change in δ¹⁵N_NO3 is relatively small.     

Dissolved iron in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean (CLIVAR SR3 section): Meridional and seasonal trends

We report measurements of dissolved iron (dFe, <0.4 μm) in seawater collected from the upper 300 m of the water column along the CLIVAR SR3 section south of Tasmania in March 1998 (between 42°S and 54°S) and November–December 2001 (between 47°S and 66°S). Results from both cruises indicate a general north-to-south decrease in mixed-layer dFe concentrations, from values as high as 0.76 nM in the Subtropical Front to uniformly low concentrations (<0.1 nM) between the Polar Front and the Antarctic continental shelf. Samples collected from the seasonal sea-ice zone in November–December 2001 provide no evidence of significant dFe inputs from the melting pack ice, which may explain the absence of pronounced ice-edge algal blooms in this sector of the Southern Ocean, as implied by satellite ocean-color images. Our data also allow us to infer changes in the dFe concentration of surface waters during the growing season. South of the Polar Front, a comparison of near-surface with subsurface (150 m depth) dFe concentrations in November–December 2001 suggests a net seasonal biological uptake of at least 0.14–0.18 nM dFe, of which 0.05–0.12 nM is depleted early in the growing season (before mid December). A comparison of our spring 2001 and fall 1998 data indicates a barely discernible seasonal depletion of dFe (0.03 nM) within the Polar Frontal Zone. Further north, most of our iron profiles do not exhibit near-surface depletions, and mixed-layer dFe concentrations are sometimes higher in samples from fall 1998 compared to spring 2001; here, the near-surface dFe distributions appear to be dominated by time-varying inputs of aerosol iron or advection of iron-rich subtropical waters from the north.     

Denitrification in Qi'ao Island coastal zone, the Zhujiang Estuary in China

Samples of sediments and the overlying water were collected in the Qi'ao Island coastal zone, the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Estuary (ZE). Denitrification rates, sediment oxygen demand (SOD) , and fluxes of inorganic nitrogen compounds were investigated with N2 flux method, using a self-designed continuous flow through and auto-sampling system. The results indicate that the denitrification rates varied between 222 and 908 μmol/(m2·h) with an average of 499 μmol/(m2·h). During incubation, the sediments absorbed dissolved oxygen in the overlying water with SOD ranging from 300 to 2 363 μmol/(m2·h). The denitrification rates were highly correlated with the SOD (r2 =0.77) regardless of the NO3- + NO2- concentrations in the overlying water, organ- ic carbon contents in sediments and water temperature, suggesting that the SOD was probably the main environ-mental factor controlling the denitrification in the Qi'ao Island coastal zone. There was a net flux of NO3- + NO2-into the sediments from the overlying water. The NH4+ flux from sediments into water as the result of mineraliza-tion was between 12. 3 and 210. 3 μmol/(m2·h) ,which seems limited by both organic carbon content in sedi-ment and dissolved oxygen concentration in the overlying water.     

The application of hyperspectral remote sensing to coast environment investigation

Requirements for monitoring the coastal zone environment are first summarized. Then the application of hyperspectral remote sensing to coast environment investigation is introduced, such as the classification of coast beaches and bottom matter, target recognition, mine detection, oil spill identification and ocean color remote sensing. Finally, what is needed to follow on in application of hyperspectral remote sensing to coast environment is recommended.     

Coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in Southern North Sea waters: Optical characterization and possible origin

The variability and origin of the Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) were studied in the Belgian coastal and adjacent areas including offshore waters and the Scheldt estuary, through the parameters: absorption at 375 nm, a_CDOM(375), and the slope of the absorption curve, S. a_CDOM(375) varied between 0.20 and 1.31 m⁻¹ and between 0.97 and 4.30 m⁻¹ in the marine area and Scheldt estuary, respectively. S fluctuated between 0.0101 and 0.0203 nm⁻¹ in the marine area and between 0.0167 and 0.0191 nm⁻¹ in the Scheldt estuary. The comparative analysis of a_CDOM(375) and S variations evidenced different origins of CDOM in the BCZ. The Scheldt estuarine waters showed decreasing a_CDOM(375) values with increasing salinity but constant S value of ∼0.018 nm⁻¹ suggesting a dominant terrestrial origin of CDOM. On the contrary, samples collected in the marine domain showed a narrow range of a_CDOM(375) but highly variable S suggesting the additional presence of autochthonous sources of CDOM. This source was evidenced based on the sorting of the marine offshore data according to the stage of the phytoplankton bloom when they were collected. A clear distinction was made between CDOM released during the growth stage characterized by high S (∼0.017 nm⁻¹) and low a_CDOM(375) and the decay phase characterized by low S (∼0.013 nm⁻¹) and high a_CDOM(375). This observation was supported by CDOM measurements performed on pure phytoplankton cultures which showed increased CDOM release along the wax and wane of the bloom but decreasing S. We concluded that the high variability of the CDOM signature in offshore waters is explained by the local biological production and processing of CDOM.