Spatial patterns and environmental drivers of benthic infaunal community structure and ecosystem function on the New Zealand continental margin

To investigate regional drivers of spatial patterns in macro- and meio-faunal community structure (abundance, biomass and taxonomic diversity) and ecosystem function (sediment community oxygen consumption [SCOC]), we sampled two regions in close proximity on New Zealand's continental margin—the Chatham Rise and the Challenger Plateau. Sites (n = 15) were selected in water depths ranging from 266–1212 m to generate a gradient in sedimentary properties and, in particular, surface pelagic productivity. Both macro- and meio-fauna abundance and biomass was 2–3.5 times higher on the Chatham Rise than on the Challenger Plateau, reflecting regional differences in pelagic primary production. We also found significant inter- and intra-regional differences in macro-fauna taxonomic diversity with two distinctive site groupings in each region. Univariate and multivariate measures of macro-fauna community attributes were most strongly correlated with sediment photosynthetic pigment (explaining 24%–59% of the variation). Sediment pigment content was as equally important in explaining meio-fauna community structure (36%–7%). Unlike community structure, SCOC was most strongly correlated with depth (44%), most likely reflecting temperature effects on benthic metabolism. Our results highlight the importance of a benthic labile food supply in structuring infaunal communities on continental margins and emphasise a tight coupling between pelagic and benthic habitats.     

Harpacticoid copepod response to epiphyte load variations in Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadows

We conducted a field experiment to assess the response of phytal harpacticoids to nutrient‐driven increases of epiphyte load in Posidonia oceanica meadows. First, we evaluated differences in species richness, diversity and assemblage structure of phytal harpacticoids in P. oceanica meadows with differing epiphyte loads. Secondly, we conducted a field experiment where epiphyte load was increased through an in situ addition of nutrients to the water column and evaluated the responses of the harpacticoid assemblages. We predicted that there would be changes in the harpacticoid assemblages as a result of nutrient‐driven increases of epiphyte load, and that these changes would be of a larger magnitude in meadows of low epiphyte load. Our results show that the harpacticoid fauna (>500 μm) present in P. oceanica meadows in the Bay of Palma comprised taxa which are considered phytal and other less abundant ones previously described as sediment dwellers or commensal on other invertebrate species. Nutrient addition had an overall significant effect on epiphyte biomass and on harpacticoid abundance, diversity and assemblage structure, possibly as a response to the increased resources and habitat complexity provided by epiphytes. The abundance of dominant species at each location was favoured by nutrient addition and in some cases correlated with epiphytic biomass, although never strongly. This may indicate that structural complexity or diversity of the epiphytic cover might be more important than the actual epiphytic biomass for the harpacticoid species investigated. More species‐specific studies are necessary to ascertain this and clarify the relationships between harpacticoids and epiphytes in seagrass meadows. To our knowledge, this is the first account of harpacticoid species associated with P. oceanica leaves and the epiphytic community they harbour in the Mediterranean Sea.     

海州湾大型底栖动物丰度和生物量的研究

2007年9月至2008年5月在海州湾采集15个站点的底泥样品,对大型底栖动物丰度和生物量进行调查研究。共采集到38种大型底栖动物,其中多毛类环节动物14种,甲壳动物5种,软体动物14种,棘皮动物1种,鱼类3种,扁形动物1种。春季平均生物量为3.3 g/m2,平均丰度为164个/m2;秋季平均生物量为26.8 g/m2,平均丰度为180个/ m2。本次调查与1959~1960年和2000~2001年南黄海的调查结果相比较,生物量有所下降。     

Measurements of biomass and activity of neustonic microorganisms

Microlayer samples from a coastal marine area near Marseilles (France) collected in 1979 and 1980 have been analysed for POC, PON, chlorophyll a, ATP, cell counts, carbon fixation and in some cases for heterotrophic activity. Comparison of microlayer data with those of underlying water showed in most cases enrichment of organic matter and microorganisms in the surface microlayer. Carbon fixation values were comparable to those observed at 0·50 m except in the slicks, where phytoneustonic activity was higher than that of the underlying phytoplankton. Though total heterotrophic activity was higher in the surface film, the turnover time was not significantly different in both microlayer and underlying water. Our data show that enrichment is highly dependent on sea conditions; whenever slicks are present, the surface film seems to function like an eutrophic system, including active living material, although detritus is regularly present in large amounts.     

莱州湾游泳动物群落结构研究

本文根据2010和2011年春季（5月）、夏季（8月）、秋季（10月）和冬季（12月）进行的8航次调查数据，研究了莱州湾游泳动物群落格局及其与环境因子关系。结果显示，调查共捕获游泳动物85种，2011年生物量略高于2010年；生物量季节间差别较大，各季节生物量排序为夏季、秋季、冬季和春季；不同年间相同季节生物量差异多不显著（秋季除外）；除2010年春季外，其余季节均为鱼类生物量最高，甲壳类次之，头足类最低；从全年调查平均值来看，莱州湾西侧游泳动物生物量（60.2 kg/h）明显高于东侧（33.4 kg/h）。根据8航次31个主要种类生物量聚类分析，莱州湾20调查站位可划分为4组：组I由位于调查海域东南的3个站位组成，组II由位于调查海域东部及中部的8个站位组成，组III由调查海域西北部（黄河口南侧）的3个站位组成，组IV由西部6个站位组成。组I浮游植物丰度、浮游动物生物量、游泳动物生物量和游泳动物多样性指数在各组中均最低，而底栖动物生物量最高；组III和组IV的浮游植物丰度、浮游动物生物量以及游泳动物生物量高于组I和组II。ANOSIM分析表明，各聚类组间群落结构虽有不同，但差异并不显著。DCCA分析表明，温度、盐度、底栖动物生物量以及浮游植物丰度是影响游泳动物群落的重要因子。研究表明，目前莱州湾游泳动物群落总生物量处于较低水平，特别是春季生物量下降尤为严重；生物量的季节分布发生了较大的改变，春季生物量极低，夏季生物量相对较高；底层鱼类比例下降的趋势有所逆转，头足类比例明显增加。莱州湾游泳动物群落格局异质性较低，可能与莱州湾生境异质性低以及人类剧烈干扰密切相关。     

Standing stock and community structure of photosynthetic picoplankton in the northern South China Sea

1 Introduction Forthe lastm ore than 20 a,ow ing to the develop-m ent of observation and experim ent technologies form arine m icroorganism s,m arine biologistshave discov-ered m any m icroorganism s w hich are difficult to beobserved by com m on m icroscope before. T hus, thecognition to the m arine phytoplankton com m unitiesand the structure of food chains has achieved im por-tantprogress.E specially,w ith the developm entand ap-plication of epifluorescence m icroscopy and flow cy-tom etry…     

Distribution of Biological Activity in the Lower St Lawrence Estuary as Determined by Multivariate Analysis

Three stations located in the Laurentian Trough were investigated three times during the summer production maximum (in June-July 1990; COUPPB90-1 cruise). A range of multivariate analyses was carried out to extract major physical-biological features in a large data set covering the whole cruise. This study presents the advantages of combining conventional principal component analysis (PCA) with a three-way data analysis. PCA provides the centre of gravity of the different locations for each variable and each sample during the cruise without temporal information. Three-way data analysis produces the trajectory of the different site/time locations for each variable and each sample, and clarifies spatial and temporal relationships between variables. The results reproduce the main patterns of the lower St Lawrence Estuary during the summer plankton bloom and indicate an upstream movement of warm and less saline waters associated with surface production. Apparently these large changes at the surface are not reflected in the deeper layers. Cluster analysis suggests that autotrophic and heterotrophic activities are decoupled when production is low and are correlated only when production increases.     

Basin-Scale Geographic Patterns of Bacterioplankton Biomass and Production in the Subarctic Pacific, July–September 1997

Bacterial biomass and production rate were measured in the surface (0–100 m) and mesopelagic layers (100–1,000 m) in the subarctic Pacific and the Bering Sea between July–September, 1997. Depth profiles were determined at stations occupied in oceanic domains including the subarctic gyres (western, Bering Sea, and Gulf of Alaska) and a boundary region south of the gyres. In the surface layer (0–100 m), both bacterial biomass and production were generally high in the western and Bering Sea gyres, with the tendency of decrease toward east. This geographic pattern was consistent with the dominant regime of phytoplankton biomass at the time of our survey. A significant portion of variation in bacterial production was explained by the concentration of chlorophyll a (r ² = 0.340, n = 60, P < 0.001) and, to the greater extent, by the concentration of semilabile total organic carbon (SL-TOC = TOC at a given depth—TOC at 1,000 m, r ² = 0.488, n = 59, P < 0.0001). Temperature significantly improved the regression model: temperature and chlorophyll jointly explained 60% of variation in bacterial production. These results support the hypothesis that bacteiral growth is largely regulated by the combination of temperature and the supply of dissolved organic carbon in subarctic surface waters. In the mesopelagic layer (100–1,000 m), the geographic pattern of bacterial production was strikingly different from the surface phytoplankton distribution: the production was high in the boundary region where the phytoplankton biomass was lowest. Bacterial growth appeared to be largely controlled by the supply of organic carbon, as indicated by the strong dependency of bacterial production on SL-TOC (r ² = 0.753, n = 75, P < 0.0001). The spatial uncoupling between surface phytoplankton and mesopelagic bacterial production suggests that the supply rate of labile dissolved organic carbon in the mesopelagic zone does not simply reflect the magnitude of the particulate organic carbon flux in the subarctic Pacific.