A collective approach to Pacific islands fisheries management: Moving beyond regional agreements

The sustainable management and profitable development of the Pacific island tuna fisheries is the key ocean governance challenge for the Pacific islands region in the short and medium term. Resolving these challenges is fundamental to the long term future of the region and its ability to implement oceans governance across all resource and conservation concerns.     

Deep-sea suprabenthos assemblages (Crustacea) off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean): Mesoscale variability in diversity and production

The composition of suprabenthic crustacean assemblages, their diversity, production (P) and production/biomass (P/B) ratios, were analyzed at species level along two transects situated to the north (N) and south (S) of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean) at depths between 134 m and 760 m, based on a ca. bi-monthly sampling performed between August 2003 and June 2004. Differences with depth and season in assemblage composition and diversity were analyzed as a function of the contrasting environmental features (e.g. water mass dynamics) of the two areas. We identified 187 species (18 decapods, 5 euphausiids, 16 mysids, 76 gammaridean amphipods, 13 hyperiids, 1 caprellid, 21 isopods and 37 cumaceans). Substantial mesoscale variability in the deep-sea suprabenthic assemblages coupled with diversity trends between the N and S transects were found. Seasonality was the most important gradient influencing the dynamics of suprabenthos over the upper (350 m) and middle (650–750 m) slope in the N area. Conversely, the S area appeared to be more stable temporally with depth as the main gradient inducing assemblage differences. Different depth-related patterns were observed both for diversity and P/B. To the north diversity was very low at the shelf-break, increasing on the upper-slope (H′ > 3.00) and then decreasing again on the middle-slope. To the south diversity increased smoothly downward, reaching the highest values on the middle-slope. Regarding productivity, P/B was highest at intermediate depths to the north (over ca. 450–500 m), while to the south highest P/Bs were found deeper (over ca. 600–650 m). The higher P/B at intermediate depths found along N are likely due to higher % of organic matter (OM) in sediments, a product of oceanographic frontal systems. In particular, P/B was higher along N among omnivores and detritus feeders (e.g. Andaniexis mimonectes, Lepechinella manco and combined cumaceans), coupled to enriched OM in sediments, while along S mesoplanktonic carnivores (Rhachotropis spp.) had higher P/Bs. We conclude that on the north slope the influence of frontal systems and more active flow dynamics of different water masses (WIW and LIW) increases natural disturbance in the area, increasing productivity and diversity of suprabenthic peracarids in the Benthic Boundary Layer. Also, species showed a displacement of their average distributions (their Centres of Gravity, CoG) to shallower depths along N, which is another indicator of more favorable habitat conditions for suprabenthos in the 400–500 m range at N.     

Air-Sea Gas Transfer Velocity in Stormy Winter Estimated from Radon Deficiency

Thirteen vertical profiles of ²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn in the near-surface water were obtained in the western North Pacific in winter, and the gas transfer velocities across the air-sea interface were estimated. The transfer velocities found by applying a steady state model varied widely from 2.1 to 30.2 m day⁻¹ with a mean of 9.4 m day⁻¹. The mean value is almost 5 times higher than that in summer in other oceans, and the maximum value is a record high for world oceans. This is partly due to the inadequacy of the steady state model, which overestimates when stronger winds blow in more recent days than the ²²²Rn half-life of about 4 days. In fact, a strong low pressure zone passed through the station about 2 days earlier, which was one of the low pressure zones that with a period of develop once a week or so in the northwestern North Pacific in winter. Instead of steady-state removal, if half of the radon removal occurred sporadically every 7 days, and the last removal took place two days before the observation, the transfer velocity would be 26 m day⁻¹. Our mean transfer velocity, which is less than 20% different from the steady state value including both overestimated and underestimated values, 9.4 ± 4.8 m day⁻¹, seems to represent the mean state of this region in winter. This suggests that the gas exchange fluxes under extremely rough conditions in the open ocean are larger than those estimated by using a transfer velocity equation with a linear or quadratic relationship with wind speed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

西北太平洋柔鱼冬春生群体栖息地的变化研究

柔鱼（Ommastrephes bartramii）是短生命周期鱼种,其适宜栖息地范围受海洋水温条件的显著影响。本文根据2006-2015年7-11月中国鱿钓技术组提供的西北太平洋柔鱼冬生群体的捕捞数据以及海表温度（SST）数据,利用捕捞努力量与SST的频率分布关系,估算柔鱼各月适宜温度范围（PFSST）,对1985-2015年柔鱼PFSST进行估算,同时分析柔鱼PFSST的年代际变化规律,并评估不同强度厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜事件对柔鱼栖息地的影响。研究表明,2006-2015年柔鱼各月适宜的SST具有明显变化,7-11月对应适宜的SST范围分别为16~19℃、17~21℃、15~19℃、14~16℃和12~13℃。单位捕捞努力量渔获量大小随PFSST变动而发生相应变化,两者具有显著正相关关系,这说明了柔鱼渔场范围内适宜温度面积增加,对应柔鱼资源丰度上升。1985-2015年柔鱼PFSST呈现显著的月间和年际变化,7-11月PFSST具有先增加后递减的变化规律,且7-9月PFSST年际波动相似,10和11月PFSST年际变化相似。同时,柔鱼PFSST与渔场内SST具有显著正相关关系。柔鱼渔场内PFSST受厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜事件调控,其面积随气候事件的强度发生变化,具体表现为:弱拉尼娜事件和正常气候条件下,柔鱼渔场范围内水温最高,适宜栖息面积显著增长;中等强度和高强度拉尼娜条件下,柔鱼渔场内平均水温较高,但适宜栖息面积较前两者显著减小;弱强度、中等强度和超高强度厄尔尼诺条件下,柔鱼渔场内水温均较低,但弱强度和超高强度厄尔尼诺条件下柔鱼适宜栖息面积均大于中等强度厄尔尼诺条件。     

Spatial and temporal variability of heat content above the thermocline in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract-Heat content of the upper layer above the 20℃ isotherm in the tropical Pacific Ocean isestimated by using the sea temperature data set with a resolution 2°latitude×5°longitude (1980～1993)for the water depths (every 10 m) from 0 m to 400 m, and its temporal and spatial variabilities are an-alyzed. (1) The temporal variability indicates that the total heat in the upper layer of the equatorial Pa-cific Ocean is charcterized by the interannual variability. The time series of the equatorial heat anomaly5 months lead that of the El Nino index at the best positive lag correlation between the two, and theformer 13 months lag behind the latter at their best negative lag correlation. Therefore the equatorialheat content can be used as a better predictor than the El Nino index for a warm or cold event. In addi-tion, it is also found that less heat anomaly in the equator corresponds to the stronger warm events inthe period (1980～1993) and much more heat was accumulated in the 4 years including 1992/1     

波致应力的近似求解及其太平洋特征分析

基于波致应力计算中对海浪谱和波浪增长率公式的敏感性分析,选择适当的波致应力近似求解方法,计算和探讨了太平洋波致应力的时空分布特征。敏感性分析中,选择了4种常用的波浪增长率公式和3种经验解析海浪谱。推导了计算波致应力的单波公式,并将其与JONSWAP谱积分公式和Elfouhaily谱积分公式进行比较,同时使用了由风速和有效波高资料构造的Elfouhaily谱积分公式计算太平洋波致应力。结果表明:Belcher等(1993)的波浪增长率计算公式估算的波致应力与实验数据吻合度较好,同时适用ERA-interim数据;当波龄小于1.2时运用Elfouhaily谱积分公式更合适,当波龄大于1.2时运用单波公式更快速有效;太平洋的波致应力分布与风场之间存在明显的相关性;2009年1月、4月、7月和10月太平洋波致应力的季节性特征分析表明四个季节的西风带波致应力较其他地区都更强盛,而在时间变化上1月和10月为波致应力整体较为强盛的时期。     

Sustainable shellfish aquaculture in Saldanha Bay,South Africa

The carrying capacity for bivalve shellfish culture in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, was analysed through the application of the well-tested EcoWin ecological model, in order to simulate key ecosystem variables. The model was set up using: (i) oceanographic and water-quality data collected from Saldanha Bay, and (ii) culture-practice information provided by local shellfish farmers. EcoWin successfully reproduced key ecological processes, simulating an annual mean phytoplankton biomass of 7.5 µg Chl a l^–1 and an annual harvested shellfish biomass of about 3 000 tonnes (t) y^–1, in good agreement with reported yield. The maximum annual carrying capacity of Small Bay was estimated as 20 000 t live weight (LW) of oysters Crassostrea gigas, or alternatively 5 100 t LW of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis, and for Big Bay as 100 000 t LW of oysters. Two production scenarios were investigated for Small Bay: a production of 4 000 t LW y^–1 of mussels, and the most profitable scenario for oysters of 19 700 t LW y^–1. The main conclusions of this work are: (i) in 2015–2016, both Small Bay and Big Bay were below their maximum production capacity; (ii) the current production of shellfish potentially removes 85% of the human nitrogen inputs; (iii) a maximum-production scenario in both Big Bay and Small Bay would result in phytoplankton depletion in the farmed area; (iv) increasing the production intensity in Big Bay would probably impact the existing cultures in Small Bay; and (v) the production in Small Bay could be increased, resulting in higher income for farmers.     

热带太平洋深海微生物的若干生理生态特征

从2001年春、秋季于热带太平洋区采集到的深海样品中共分离到110株微生物,从中挑取31株进行形态特征和对环境理化因子适应特征的研究,同时利用Biolog微生物自动鉴定系统进行菌种鉴定和碳源代谢分析.结果表明:31株微生物中2株为酵母,21株为革兰氏阳性细菌,8株为革兰氏阴性细菌,来自底质的细菌菌株阳性菌占优势,而海水、蓝藻中阴性菌居多;温度、盐度、pH适应性试验表明,严格意义上的狭适性微生物不到总数的1/3,而具有较宽生态幅的广适性微生物占有相当大的比例.另一方面,耐冷菌、中度嗜盐菌和抗碱菌在这些微生物中的比例很高,同时,来自蓝藻的菌株大多数在4℃下不生长,而来自上覆水和底质的菌株可在4℃生长,这些都体现了微生物对生存环境的响应.31株微生物经Biolog鉴定12株得出鉴定结果.15株革兰氏阳性细菌对95种碳源的利用能力分析表明,不同菌株可利用碳源的数目从3种到46种不等,差异很大,体现了深海微生物营养类型的极大多样性;同时,发现有8种碳源可被一半以上的受试菌株所利用,这些碳源均是微生物各类代谢途径中的重要中间代谢物.     

A review of eastern tropical Pacific oceanography: Summary

The collection of articles in this volume reviewing eastern tropical Pacific oceanography is briefly summarized, and updated references are given. The region is an unusual biological environment as a consequence of physical characteristics and patterns of forcing – including a strong and shallow thermocline, the ITCZ and coastal wind jets, equatorial upwelling, the Costa Rica Dome, eastern boundary and equatorial current systems, low iron input, inadequate ventilation of subthermocline waters, and dominance of ENSO-scale temporal variability. Remaining unanswered questions are presented.     

Atmospheric forcing of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

The increase in marine, land surface, atmospheric and satellite data during recent decades has led to an improved understanding of the air–sea interaction processes in the eastern tropical Pacific. This is also thanks to extensive diagnoses from conceptual and coupled ocean–atmosphere numerical models. In this paper, mean fields of atmospheric variables, such as incoming solar radiation, sea level pressure, winds, wind stress curl, precipitation, evaporation, and surface energy fluxes, are derived from global atmospheric data sets in order to examine the dominant features of the low level atmospheric circulations of the region. The seasonal march of the atmospheric circulations is presented to depict the role of radiative forcing on atmospheric perturbations, especially those dominating the atmosphere at low levels.In the tropics, the trade winds constitute an important north–south energy and moisture exchange mechanism (as part of the low level branch of the Hadley circulation), that determines to a large extent the precipitation distribution in the region, i.e., that associated with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Monsoonal circulations also play an important role in determining the warm season precipitation distribution over the eastern tropical Pacific through a large variety of air–sea–land interaction mechanisms. Westward traveling waves, tropical cyclones, low latitude cold air intrusions, and other synoptic and mesoscale perturbations associated with the ITCZ are also important elements that modulate the annual rainfall cycle. The low-level jets of the Gulf of California, the Intra-Americas Sea (Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) and Chocó, Colombia are prominent features of the eastern tropical Pacific low-level circulations related to sub-regional and regional scale precipitation patterns. Observations show that the Intra-Americas Low-Level Jet intensity varies with El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, however its origin and role in the westward propagation and development of disturbances that may hit the eastern tropical Pacific, such as easterly waves and tropical cyclones, are still unclear. Changes in the intensity of the trade winds in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (associated with eastern tropical Pacific wind jets) exert an important control on precipitation by means of wind–topography interactions. Gaps in the mountains of southern Mexico and Central America allow strong wind jets to pass over the continent imprinting a unique signal in sea surface temperatures and ocean dynamics of the eastern tropical Pacific.The warm pools of the Americas constitute an important source of moisture for the North American Monsoon System. The northeastern tropical Pacific is a region of intense cyclogenetic activity, just west of the coast of Mesoamerica. Over the oceanic regions, large-scale properties of key variables such as precipitation, moisture, surface energy fluxes and wind stress curl are still uncertain, which inhibits a more comprehensive view of the region and stresses the importance of regional field experiments. Progress has been substantial in the understanding of the ocean and atmospheric dynamics of the eastern tropical Pacific, however, recent observational evidence such as that of a shallow meridional circulation cell in that region, in contrast to the classic concept of the Hadley-type deep meridional circulation, suggests that more in situ observations to validate theories are still necessary.This paper is part of a comprehensive review of the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.