Diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from the waters of Mauritius (western Indian Ocean) inferred from stomach contents and fatty acid analysis

The diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from their spawning ground in the waters of Mauritius was investigated. The stomach contents of 249 albacore individuals, caught by industrial longliners and artisanal fishers, was analysed, and the dominant prey taxa were selected for lipid and fatty acid (FA) analysis. The FA profiles of prey were compared with those of liver tissue of spawning-capable and post-spawning female albacore, using multivariate analysis. Whereas stomach content analysis identified cephalopods and crustaceans as the dominant prey items in number, FA-profile analysis identified crustaceans and fishes as the most-frequently consumed prey of post-spawning female albacore. In contrast, the FA profiles of spawning-capable albacore and those of prey showed very low similarity. Analysis of the prey suggests that although cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes could all provide albacore with the required lipids and FAs, cephalopod prey seem to be less desirable owing to their lower energy content (i.e. low in total lipid, triacylglycerol, 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1ω9). Instead, the most beneficial food appeared to be locally available fishes, which are more energy-rich and have a higher docosahexaenoic acid/ eicosapentaenoic acid ratio. These results provide new information on the trophic ecology of albacore, promote our understanding of the importance of prey type for successful reproduction of albacore, and highlight the advantages of FA profiling to study diet.     

Abundance of the introduced seastar, Asterias amurensis, and spatial variability in soft sediment assemblages in SE Tasmania: Clear correlations but complex interpretation

The northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, was first collected in southeast Tasmania in 1986. Mistaken for the endemic asteroid Uniophora granifera, its true identity was not realised until 1992. It is now a conspicuous predator in soft sediment habitats in this region, and is considered a major threat to native assemblages and commercial species. We examined the structure of soft sediment assemblages at different spatial scales in southeast Tasmania, and correlated spatial variation in community composition with seastar abundances. We found that the structure of soft sediment assemblages is highly variable at a range of spatial scales from metres to tens of kilometres. Clear differences in the composition of assemblages and abundances of major taxa were detected between areas with and without seastars and between areas with low and high seastar densities. However, the nature of these patterns suggests that they are more likely due to differences in sediment characteristics than due to impacts of the seastar. Thus, spatial differences in soft sediment assemblages might have been erroneously attributed to seastars without detailed information on important physical factors such as sediment characteristics. A second survey, using larger sampling units (1 m²) but across a more limited spatial extent, targeted bivalves and heart urchins that were identified as important prey of the seastar in observations of feeding and in experimental studies. Large-scale patterns of abundance and size structure were consistent with seastar effects anticipated from small-scale experimental and feeding studies for some, but not all, species. While the field survey ultimately provided evidence about the presence or absence of seastar impacts at large-scales, the identification of key ecological variables in experimental and feeding studies proved crucial to both the design and interpretation of patterns observed in the large-scale surveys. Overall, this work highlighted the necessity to consider multiple lines of evidence rather than relying on a single ‘inferential’ test, in the absence of pre-impact data.     

Action mechanism of geotextile-reinforced cushion under breakwater on soft ground

Various measures including material experiments, centrifuge modeling tests and FEM numerical analyses were performed to study systematically the action mechanism of the geotextile-reinforced cushion under breakwater on soft ground and the effects of the strata characterization and the reinforcement condition on the stability of the breakwater-ground system. In the aspect of controlling the deformation, the geotextile-reinforced cushion under breakwater constrains the lateral displacement of both the embankment and the ground. From the viewpoint of stress, the reinforcement suppressed the range of high stress level in the system. In general, the weaker the ground is and the greater the modulus of the geotextile is, the more effective the reinforcement is. The tensile force in the geotextile is greater in the range of the main part of the embankment.     

山东全新世滨海软土与工程地质灾害的研究

山东全新世滨海软土分布在海湾、泻湖、河口区，厚度１－１０ｍ。海湾、泻湖软土为淤泥、淤泥质土，陆源物质供应丰富的浅水区，软土颗粒偏粗，强度相对较高，触变性对建筑物危害性大，陆源物质供应少的深水区，软土颗粒偏细，低强度、高压缩性、沉降变形大和蠕变性是危及建筑物稳定的主要因素。海湾、泻湖软土位于地下水位下，具低透水性，掩埋后短期不易排水固结，软土下为强度较高的冲积物，对一般建筑物，利用强夯、粉喷搅拌桩、     

单体褶牡蛎(Crassostrea sp.)的研究

采用肾上腺素(EPI)和去甲肾上腺素(NE)诱导、颗粒固着基和先固着后脱基三种方法,对褶牡蛎的眼点幼虫进行处理,产生单体蛎苗。EPI和NE诱导的最适浓度为10~(-4)M,最适处理时间为3h,幼虫的不固着变态率分别达47.7％和46.6％。处理时间延长,变态率增加不明显。EPI和NE的诱导效果差别不明显,其诱导作用对稚贝的生长无明显副作用。颗粒固着基以贝壳粉为佳,最适颗粒的规格为幼虫的壳长。幼虫先固着后脱基而形成单体蛎苗,以可弯曲的灰色塑料板效果最好,固着的小贝可通过来回弯曲塑料板而从上面脱落下来,小贝长至1～2cm大小时,脱基最容易。     

A Study on the Dynamic Analysis of A Tracked Vehicle for Ocean Mining on the Deep Seabed

1 .IntroductionOnthedeepseabed ,30 0 0～ 50 0 0mbelowthePacificOcean ,manganesenodulesaresolidifiedandspread ,andmanycountriesintheworldarestudyinghowtominethem .AccordingtoYamazakietal.( 1 998)andAmannetal.( 1 991 ) ,theenvironmentofthedeepseabedisdifferentfromthedrylandinmanyways .Inparticular,thesurfaceoftheseabedisverysoft.Inordertoensuretheperformanceofrunningofamanganesenodulemineronsuchasoftsurface ,thetrackedvehiclemaybeapplied .Ac cordingtoHongandChoi ( 2 0 0 1 ) ,astudyisbeingdone…     

南海卡氏豆荚软珊瑚化学成分研究Ⅱ

运用光谱分析和GC－MS方法首次从卡氏豆荚软珊瑚Lobophytumcatelai中分离和鉴定出8个化合物：l，十六碳酸；2,异丁基十六碳酸酯；3，鲨肝醇；4十六酸丙酯；5，2，3一二羟基丙基十八酸酯；6，2β，3β-环氧基-5α-雄甾烷-17-醇；7，14-甲基-5α-胆甾-8-稀-3-酮；8，2α，3α一环氧基-5α-雄甾烷-17-醇。     

Study on Key Technology of Using Shell Sand as Backfill for Sea Reclamation

1 .IntroductionEpicontinental sea or land could formfromcontinental shelf because of the decreasing sea levelduring Quaternary.There is a large-area shell sand deposit more than ten meters thick in the neriticzone of China .To use the abundant marine shell sandresource as engineering material for ocean engi-neering and port engineeringis veryimportant .Sand (Gred and Bjorn,1999) ,fine sand (Zhangetal .,2002) , mediumand coarse sand (Qiuet al .,1995) ,highly weathered stone ballast (Zhanetal…