Depth Zonation, Micro habitat, and Morphology of Three Species of Acanthemblemaria (Pisces: Blennioidea) in the Guif of California, Mexico

Abstract. The utilization of the spatial resources of refuge type, size and depth placement is investigated in the three sympatric species of Acanthemblemaria at the cape region of Baja California, Mexico. A. balanorum occupies barnacle testes (Balanus tintinnabulum), A. macrospilus occupies barnacles and mollusk tubes (vermetid gastropods and pholadids), and A. crockeri occupies only mollusk tubes (pholadids). Refuge diameter overlap is higher than overlap in depth. A. crockeri consistently occupies depths below 5m. Competition experiments for barnacle refuges among the three species indicate that A. balanorum is a superior competitor for such refuges. Prior residency of a less superior species changes the outcome of refuge competition in its favor. The morphological specialization of A. balanorum and A. macrospilus is evident in a high correlation between head size and standard length. A. balanorum selects refuges with entrance diameters highly correlated to standard length.     

Current trends of space occupation by encrusting excavating sponges on Colombian coral reefs

Some sponges of the genus Cliona (Porifera, Hadromerida, Clionidae) simultaneously excavate and encrust calcareous substratum, competing aggressively for illuminated space with corals and other organisms. To interpret current trends of reef space occupation, the patterns of distribution and size of three Caribbean species were examined at San Andrés Island and Islas del Rosario in Colombia. While Cliona aprica was ubiquitous, C. caribbaea (= C. langae) preferred deep and protected reef zones, and C. tenuis shallow and wave‐exposed settings. In contrast to the effect on other excavating sponges, chronic exposure to raw sewage did not significantly increase the abundance of the studied sponges. Substratum occupation/availability ratios showed a positive tendency of the sponges toward certain coral skeletons, and a negative or neutral tendency toward calcareous rock, indicating that establishment may be easier on clean, recently dead coral than on older, heavily incrusted substratum. High relief generally limits sponge size to that of the illuminated portions of the substratum. A generally lower proportion of small individuals than of larger ones indicates currently low recruitment rates and low subsequent mortality. Successful events of higher recruitment seem to have occurred for C. tenuis. These are related to the massive acroporid coral die‐off in the early 1980s and to asexual dispersion during storms, resulting in a current 10% substratum cover. Reefs with high coral mortality were and/or are thus more susceptible to colonization and subsequent space occupation by these sponges, although relief may prevent space monopolization.     

钝顶螺旋藻部分原生质体及单细胞的制备与培养

于1992年1月-1994年4月，进行超声波处理方法制备钝顶螺旋藻部分原生质体以作为基因工程受体，以及制备单细胞用于固体平板克隆化培养的研究。研究结果表明：超声波以20kHz频率、15W功率作用30s，可使藻丝体断裂成15．0±1．6个细胞长度；延长作用时间，至2－6个细胞长度时，细胞壁结构遭到破坏，形成部分原生质体；继续作用，可形成少量原生质体和大量单细胞。断裂藻丝体、部分原生质体、单细胞以及原生质体均可涂布于固体培养基上再生或生长。以一定密度涂布单细胞与原生质体，能够形成彼此分开的单个克隆，可用于筛选及遗传分析。本文提供了一种节省溶菌酶的制备螺旋藻透性体的方法，超声波作用利于外源基因的导入，而涂布培养利于进一步的筛选和形成克隆。     

Phytoplankton biomass and size fractions in surface waters of the Australian sector of the southern ocean

We collected surface water along the 142nd E meridian from Tasmania to Antarctica in December 1999. We measured temperature, salinity and total chlorophyll a; additionally, we collected suspended particle size fractions and used fluorometric analysis to determine the quantity of chlorophyll a in each of four cell size classes: picoplankton (<3 μm), two nanoplankton fractions (3–10 μm and 10–20 μm) and microplankton (> 20 μm). Changes in temperature and salinity show that we crossed 6 water masses separated by 5 fronts. We found low abundance (<0.2 mg m⁻³) of chlorophyll in all size classes, with the exception of higher values near the continent (0.2 to 0.4 mg m⁻³). Lowest chlorophyll values (<0.1 mg m⁻³) were found in the Polar Frontal Zone (51° to 54°S). Microplankton made up the largest portion of total chlorophyll throughout most of the region. We conclude that biomass of all phytoplankton fractions, especially pico-and nanoplankton, was constrained by limiting factors, most probably iron, throughout the region and that ecosystem dynamics within a zone are not circumpolar but are regionalized within sectors.     

秦皇岛昌黎黄金海岸的沙丘沉积和发育机理

昌黎黄金海岸长40km，分布1～1．5km宽的风成沙丘。主沙丘链高30～40m，顺岸线分布，与其斜交数列新月形横向沙丘链。沙丘以中细砂组成，分选极好，层理构造十分丰富。距今3～4ka以前，沙坝形成时就开始形成沙丘；1915年滦河新三角洲发育以来增加了风沙的输沙量，增高沙丘和扩宽了沙丘带。     

Response of zooid size in Cupuladria exfragminis (Bryozoa) to simulated upwelling temperatures

We investigate the effect of the temperature–size rule upon zooids of the tropical American bryozoan Cupuladria exfragminis. Results show that mean zooid length, zooid width and zooid area vary significantly between clonal replicates of C. exfragminis kept under different controlled temperature conditions. Significantly larger zooids are produced during times of lowered water temperature that are comparable with the temperatures that occur during seasonal upwelling along the Pacific coast of Panama where the animal lives in abundance. Interpolation of data suggests that a drop of 1 °C causes a 5% increase in zooid size, and that almost all variation in zooid size in natural populations can be explained by temperature. Results are discussed in context of the potential use of zooid size variation in cupuladriid bryozoans to measure the strength of seasonal upwelling in ancient seas by analysing zooid size changes in fossil colonies. The technique of cloning cupuladriid colonies by fragmentation is also discussed with reference to its benefits in experimental studies where genotypes need to be controlled or replicated.     

莫桑比克罗非鱼孵卵期间口腔粘膜变化的研究

用组织学、组织化学和酶技术,对雌性莫桑比克罗非鱼在孵卵前后口腔粘膜的组织结构、抗菌酶的比活力变化进行初步研究。结果表明:在口腔粘膜的上皮中,杯状细胞是一个重要的结构,它随着雌鱼的生理状态的改变而变化。雄鱼、雌鱼和孵卵期的雌鱼口腔粘膜上皮中的杯状细胞数量上的差别显著。孵卵期的雌鱼口腔粘膜类似于哺乳动物的子宫粘膜也是受性激素影响的靶器官。该种鱼的口腔粘膜中存在着两种抗菌酶;蛋白质水解酶和壳多糖酶。孵卵前后,这两种酶的比活力分别提高1.4—2.03倍。说明孵卵时,口腔粘膜为使卵及仔鱼健康的发育,增强了抗菌能力。研究结果证明:抗菌力的增加与口腔粘膜中的杯状细胞的大量增生有着密切的关系。     

In Situ Measurement of Pinna nobilis Shells for Age and Growth Studies: A New Device

Abstract. Pinna nobilis Linnaeus 1758 is an endemic bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean Sea, where it inhabits seagrass meadows, especially Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile. It is the largest bivalve in the Mediterranean, reaching lengths up to 120 cm. In its natural habitat, P. nobilis lives with the anterior part of the valve buried in the seabed, attached to Posidonia rhizomes by byssus threads.
This habit makes it impossible to measure its total length directly in situ. As the only way to determine the individual age is the relationship between age and total length, several equations have been proposed to estimate total length by relating it to the unburied parts of the shell. Such measurements are essential to ecological studies that consider age, growth, and population dynamics, and that evaluate the environmental factors that affect this species.
Accurately estimating total length depends on the accuracy and precision of the method employed to measure the unburied shell parts. In this paper, we point out the lack of precision of the instruments and methods used until now; we also demonstrate the reason for this imprecision. A new device to measure unburied parts of Pinna nobilis with a precision comparable to that obtained when measuring extracted valves is described. This device is unaffected by substratum type and reduces measurement time. The latter is a very important feature, because these procedures are usually performed whilst SCUBA diving. Finally, a growth equation has been fitted to the measurements obtained with the new device from a population located in Moraira (Alicante, western Mediterranean).