Biodiversity patterns of free-living marine nematodes in a tropical bay: Cienfuegos, Caribbean Sea

Spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns of free-living marine nematodes were studied in Cienfuegos Bay, a tropical semi-enclosed basin in the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomic (to species level) and functional (biological trait) approaches were applied for describing the assemblage structure and relating it to abiotic environment based on a sampling scheme in six subtidal stations and three months. Biological trait approach added relevant information to species pattern regarding relationships between diversity patterns and the abiotic environment. The most common morphotypes were deposit feeding nematodes, with colonising abilities of 2–3 (in a scale from 1 to 5), tail conical cylindrical or filiforme and body slender; and their abundance were correlated with depth, organic matter and silt/clay fraction. In spite of a high turnover of species, functional diversity of assemblages did not change notably in space and time. A result probably due to sampling of the habitat pool of species and to low heterogeneity of the studied muddy bottoms. Chemical pollution (organic enrichment and heavy metals) and hydrodynamic regime possibly drove the biodiversity patterns. Spatial distribution of assemblages support the existence of two well differentiated basins inside the bay, the northern basin more polluted than the southern one. The low hydrodynamic regime would determine a poor dispersion of nematodes resulting in high spatial variance in the assemblage structure; and also the associated hypoxic conditions and pollutants in sediments can explain the dominance of tolerant nematode species such as Daptonema oxycerca, Sabatieria pulchra, Terschellingia gourbaultae, and Terschellingia longicaudata. A comparison of spatial–temporal patterns of biodiversity between Cienfuegos Bay and other semi-enclosed bays in temperate regions suggests several similarities: nematode assemblages are strongly influenced by anthropogenic disturbance, temporal trends are weak or overridden by spatial ones, and few cosmopolitan genera/species tolerant to pollution and hypoxic conditions are dominant.     

The divergent environmental characteristics of permanently-open,seasonally-open and normally-closed estuaries of south-western Australia

This study has compared the environmental characteristics of the basins and saline lower reaches of the tributaries of eight estuaries on the south coast of Western Australia, which differ in their degree of connectivity with the ocean. Although four estuaries between 115.1° and 121.8° E along that coast remain permanently open to the ocean, the others only become open when the volume of river discharge is sufficient to breach the prominent sand bars at their mouths, which occurs annually following heavy winter and early spring rainfall in some estuaries (seasonally open) and infrequently in others (normally closed). Estuaries to the west of 118.5° E are predominantly permanently open, e.g. Oyster Harbour, or seasonally open, e.g. Broke, Irwin and Wilson inlets, whereas those further east, e.g. Wellstead Estuary and Hamersley, Culham and Stokes inlets, where annual rainfall and thus discharge are much lower, only become open after exceptionally heavy discharge. In permanently and seasonally-open estuaries, pronounced haloclines and oxyclines are present in the narrow rivers but not the wide basins where the waters are subjected to wind-driven mixing. The extent of cyclical seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions differed markedly among the three seasonally-open estuaries and between years in one of those systems. These differences reflected variations in the relationship between the volume of fluvial discharge, which is determined by a combination of the amount of local rainfall, catchment size and extent of clearing of native vegetation, and the amount of intrusion by marine waters, which is largely controlled by the size and duration of the opening of the estuary mouth. The mean seasonal salinities in the basins of the three normally-closed estuaries increased over three years of very low rainfall to 64 in the deepest of these estuaries (Stokes Inlet) to 145 in Hamersley Inlet and to 296 in the shallowest estuary (Culham Inlet). These results demonstrate that the environmental characteristics of estuaries on the south coast of Western Australia differ markedly, even among those of the same type, e.g. seasonally-open estuaries or normally-closed estuaries.     

海洋生态系统健康评价的底栖生物指数法研究进展

海洋大型底栖无脊椎动物能对自然和人为活动导致的水和沉积物质量变化做出可预测的响应,因此利用底栖生物作为海洋生态环境监测的生物指标和进行系统健康度量的生物指数已经得到了广泛的认可.本文比较分析了几种常用的和正在发展的海洋生态系统健康和生态环境质量状况评估的底栖生物指数,包括指示生物法、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、BI指数、AMBI指数和Bentix指数,总结了这几种生物指数的应用和特性,探讨了底栖生物指数在实际应用中可能存在的问题和解决的办法,以期为我国海洋生态系统健康评估工作提供参考.     

海洋环境下粉煤灰混凝土的抗冻性与抗氯离子渗透性的耦合

针对海洋环境条件,重点研究了粉煤灰混凝土的抗冻性和氯离子渗透性能的相互关系.试验分别研究了水胶比、粉煤灰等量取代水泥掺量大小、引气剂掺量等因素对抗冻性和抗氯离子渗透性能的影响,并与普通混凝土进行了对比.结果表明,粉煤灰不增加混凝土的抗海水冻融耐久性;粉煤灰增加混凝土的抗氯离子渗透性能,但是掺量超过30%,抗氯离子渗透性能下降;粉煤灰对混凝土抗冻性和抗氯离子渗透性的耦合影响在30%左右存在一个最佳掺量.为评估混凝土的抗冻性和氯离子扩散性的耦合性能,提出了新的评价方法--冻渗比(R值方法),并进行了试验验证.SEM和MIP微观分析与R值方法评价的结果是吻合的.     

九龙江河口区表层沉积物重金属元素分布特征及其沉积环境

通过对九龙江河口表层沉积物的重金属元素含量、沉积物粒度等要素进行分析,结合相关与聚类分析等统计手段,探讨了九龙江河口地区的沉积环境与重金属元素含量特征的关系.结果表明,即使在沉积环境复杂的河口地区,重金属含量分布与沉积物粒度仍存在明显的对应关系.受沉积动力影响,不同的重金属元素分布在九龙江河口地区表现出较大差异,而嵩屿至屿仔尾一带呈带状南北向展布的重金属相对高值条带值得引起注意.     

中国海洋志愿观测船现运行状态及发展

志愿船观测是中国必须履行的国际义务。目前,中国海洋志愿观测船只呈逐年减少趋势,从过去的百余艘船只降至三、四十艘,并且从观测能力上也存在较多问题,比如观测手段比较落后、观测要素单一、观测资料缺乏。从根本上讲,志愿船运行机制缺乏有效的制度化保障,因此难以形成业务化能力,并且不能有效的履行国际义务。本文将对志愿船现运行状态及发展进行论述。     

利用卫星云图资料制作热带气旋预报路径的一种算法

根据台风生成后在云场中移动的环境条件,引入一个环境作用于台风中心的热力梯度力方向,用该热力梯度力方向与当前台风的移动方向相结合,研究台风移动过程的变化规律,寻找一种简易可行的台风路径预报方法．经过多年实践,本文揭示出台风中心未来沿着当前移动方向与环境作用于台风中心的热力方向合成移动的基本规律：当前台风中心移向与前方晴空区中轴线相交时,台风沿着当前移向前进到与阻挡轴线相交点相距4个纬距的位置时便发生偏转,逐渐与阻挡轴线走向趋于一致;若当前台风中心距相交点的距离小于或等于4个纬距时,则从当前位置发生偏转．文中利用以上规律研制出台风移向变化方程和移动轨迹方程．     

海域勘界技术的应用

制订划界方案是海域勘界工作的核心工作,包括资料分析、初拟划界草案、草案协调和协商等阶段．大多数海域界线需要分段划分．勘界实践表明,不同界线及其不同区段的界线必须运用不同的划界技术,如垂直岸线法、水道（航道）中心线法、协议线法、习惯线法、中点连线法、用海界线法及岛礁中间线法等．草案协调是勘界工作的难点,必须采取背靠背协调、面对面协商及反复沟通等方法,促成双方达成共识．     

闽东沿岸2004～2006年浮游植物生态特征研究

根据闽东海洋环境监测中心2004年-2006年阂东沿岸生态调查的资料,分析和研究了闽东沿岸浮游植物的生态特征．共鉴定出浮游植物的种类3个门39属共134种,其中硅藻门的种类占总种数的80％,为该调查海域主要门类．主要优势种是中肋骨条藻（Skeletonema costatum）、旋链角毛藻（Chaetoceros curvisetus）、尖刺拟菱形藻（Pseudo—nitzschia pungens）和丹麦细柱藻（Leptocylindrus danicus）等．浮游植物的丰度分布,呈现由调查海域东北侧向西南侧、由近岸向远岸减少的空间特征,夏季高、春季低的季节变化特点,并且有逐年减少的年际变化趋势．本调查海域浮游植物多样性指数较高,群落较稳定．     

Antiangiogenic activity of low-temperature lysozyme from a marine bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

We extracted marine low-temperature lysozyme (MLTL), a novel lysozyme, from a marine microorganism through fermentation. Our previous study suggested that a low molecular weight (16 kDa) may exert anti-tumor activity through antiangiogenesis. In this study, we extracted a high weight (39 kDa) and investigated its antiangiogenic activity in vivo and in vitro. Using zebrafish embryos as an in vivo study model, we found that treatment with MLTL significantly inhibited the growth of subintestinal vessels (SIVs) in a dose-dependent manner and that 400 μg/ml MLTL was sufficient to block the growth of SIVs. An in vitro study conducted using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) revealed that MLTL suppressed the proliferation, migration and tube formation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, assays by flow cytometry and DNA electrophoresis indicated that MLTL was able to induce apoptosis of HUVECs. Moreover, further study demonstrated that the disruption of intracellular Ca²⁺ homeostasis may play an important role in MLTL induced apoptosis of HUVECs. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate for the first time that MLTL inhibits angiogenesis through its pleiotropic effects on vascular endothelial cells and induces apoptosis through regulation of cellular Ca²⁺ levels. The results of this study also revealed a possible mechanism underlying the antiangiogenic effect of MLTL and suggested that MLTL may be a promising new antiangiogenic agent for use in cancer therapy.