Are assemblages of black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) in different estuaries genetically distinct?

Samples of the estuarine-spawning teleostAcanthopagrus butcheri were collected from nine estuaries and a coastal lake, located in the Pilbara and South-western drainage divisions of Western Australia and distributed along a coastline covering a distance of nearly 2,000 km. The patterns of allozyme variation in these samples were used to explore the extent to which there was variation in the genetic compositions of black bream assemblages in geographically-isolated estuarine systems, and whether or not any such variation could be related to the geographical location or type of estuary. Although only three of 36 scorable loci (Gpi-1, Ldh andMdh-2) exhibited variation that could be used for analysis, there was considerable variation in allele frequencies at these loci among the different samples (mean F_ST=0.166). Much of the detected variation was attributable to differences between the samples collected from the two drainage divisions, which are located in very different climatic regions. Furthermore, the genetic compositions of samples from neighbouring estuaries were typically more similar to each other than to those of samples collected from more distantly-located systems. However, the assemblages in one west coast and two south coast estuaries, that are closed to the ocean for extensive periods of time during the year, all showed very similar genetic compositions. Nevertheless, it is crucial to recognise that, pairwise comparisons of samples collected from the different estuaries, both within and between the two drainage divisions, almost invariably showed statistically significant differences in allele frequencies at one or more loci. Thus, our results indicate that the local populations of black bream in individual estuaries are genetically distinct, which is probably a consequence of both a limited movement by individuals between estuaries and the effects of differences in regional and local environmental conditions.     

Relations between free copper and salinity, dissolved and particulate organic carbon in the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde, Netherlands

In a previous investigation, relatively simple relations were found to estimate free Cu, and hence a good approximation of bio-available Cu, at two sites in estuarine waters of the Dutch Oosterschelde and Westerschelde. In the present study, these relations are validated for the remainder of the two sea arms. In the Westerschelde the relation between the concentration of a dissolved organic ligand (K=10¹³), DOC (dissolved organic carbon) and salinity is valid in a range of salinities at least from 10 up to 25 to 30. This ligand group is primarily riverine and partly estuarine. It is, as far as we know, the strongest ligand for Cu, and its concentration dominantly affects the free Cu ion concentrations, which are around 50 fM. At high salinities, dilution and mineralisation diminish the riverine member of the ligand group too much and the relation with salinity and DOC is no longer valid. In the Oosterschelde the relations between POC (particulate organic carbon) and particulate Cu and between POC and the ratio of particulate and dissolved Cu are valid for the western, central and eastern compartments. Since equilibrium was assumed to exist between dissolved and particulate Cu, free Cu can be calculated from POC and particulate Cu concentrations. Due to the large adsorption capacity of POC, the Oosterschelde is with respect to Cu a very well-buffered system with [Cu²⁺] of 20 fM.     

烟台市区河流入海口微生物群落的分析

2015年4月在烟台市区4条主要河流(辛安河、逛荡河、鱼鸟河和夹河)入海口处采集12个样品,利用PCR-DGGE方法分析了此区域的细菌群落组成和优势菌群。通过统计学手段对DGGE图谱进行分析,结果表明4条河流入海口细菌群落丰富度都较高,12个取样点扩增的DGGE条带数都在30以上,样品的Shannon指数均高于3.3,个别甚至可达3.61。其中,辛安河和逛荡河的Shannon指数平均值均高于鱼鸟河和夹河,夹河多样性最低;而且UPGMA聚类分析结果显示地理位置越接近,其细菌组成的相似度越高。在DGGE电泳条带中选取14条主要条带进行扩增和序列测定,所得到的序列进行了系统进化分析发现4条河流入海口的优势菌群主要为变形杆菌门(Proteobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)。这与近年来关于山东近岸海域细菌多样性的研究结果相符合,为研究和保护烟台市区河口处环境提供科学依据。     

中国主要入海河口咸潮入侵变化特征

长江口、钱塘江口和珠江口是受咸潮影响较为严重的区域。本文利用全国沿海海平面变化影响调查、沿海水文观测等数据,分析了近十年长江口、珠江口和钱塘江口咸潮入侵的变化特征及影响。分析结果表明:(1) 2009-2018年,长江口咸潮入侵次数和持续时间均呈减少趋势,该时段长江口共监测到约48次咸潮入侵过程,发生时间集中在9-10月至翌年5月,其中3月和11月入侵次数较多,分别为12次和7次。(2)钱塘江口咸潮入侵过程受沿海季节性海平面影响显著,12月至翌年3月为钱塘江口季节性低海平面期,4-7月上旬径流量较大,上述两个时期钱塘江口受咸潮入侵的影响均较小,7月下旬至11月上旬,钱塘江口处于季节性高海平面期,是咸潮影响的集中时段。(3) 2009-2018年,珠江口共监测到约57次咸潮入侵过程,发生时间集中在9-10月至翌年3-4月,其中1月、2月和10月咸潮入侵次数较多,均超过10次,2015年至今咸潮持续时间明显增加。(4)咸潮入侵次数和持续时间与基础海面和径流量等密切相关,咸潮入侵影响三大河口沿线水厂供水以及工农业生产取水,给沿岸城市的居民生活、工农业生产和渔业养殖等造成一定不利影响。     

Interstitial water chemistry of the inner continental shelf sediments off the gironde estuary

The interstitial water composition ( , alkalinity, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Sr²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺) and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) were determined for the muddy sediments of the continental shelf off the Gironde Estuary (France), in the area where the sediment represents the deposit of the muddy suspension of the river. In comparison with seawater concentrations, the pore waters below 10 cm depth, show depletions of and Ca²⁺ and below a 30 cm depth show depletions of Mg²⁺. Inversely, the upper 10 cm an enrichment of Ca²⁺ concentration, and an increase of K⁺ concentration to a 40 cm depth. High values of are observed at the top 4 cm. Alkalinity enrichment is observed along the length of the core. Applying the alkalinity models for the sediment below a 10 cm depth demonstrates generally that calculated alkalinities are higher than the measured ones. Ca²⁺ dissolution occurs at the first 10 cm and authigenic carbonate precipitation starts beneath that level. Mg²⁺ depletion is accompanied by bicarbonate loss. This proves that Mg²⁺ depletion is due to a Mg-silicate reaction. The result of the CEC does not confirm the Mg²⁺ uptake by clay minerals in exchangeable site, under reducing conditions. Diffusion and bioturbation play an important role in the pore water concentration at the top of the core.     

Rethinking Precolonial Plant Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America

The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America are widely believed to have been true “hunter‐fisher‐gatherers,” lacking plant cultivation of any kind. This depiction of the region's indigenous inhabitants emerged within early colonial accounts and was perpetuated within the literatures of geography, anthropology, and archaeology. Still, there is ample evidence of plant cultivation available from archival, archaeological, and ethnographic sources. In particular, the peoples of coastal British Columbia created large gardens of edible estuarine plants, using sophisticated indigenous technologies. The oversight of these practices in written representations of the region reveals consistent patterns of bias, emanating from the agendas of colonial agents and early academics alike. In turn, this bias has undermined aboriginal traditions of cultivation and indigenous land claims.     

The European coastal zone: characterization and first assessment of ecosystem metabolism

The geomorphic, oceanographic, terrestrial and anthropogenic attributes of the European coastal zone are described and published data on ecosystem function (primary production and respiration) are reviewed. Four regions are considered: the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the European Atlantic coast including the North Sea. The metabolic database (194 papers) suffers from a non-homogeneous geographical coverage with no usable data for the Black Sea which was therefore excluded from this part of our study. Pelagic gross primary production in European open shelves is, by far, the most documented parameter with an estimated mean of 41 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, the lowest value is reported in the Mediterranean Sea (21 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹) and the highest one in the Atlantic/North Sea area (51 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Microphytobenthic primary production, mostly measured in shallow areas, is extrapolated to the entire 0–200 m depth range. Its contribution to total primary production is low in all regions (mean: 1.5 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Although macrophyte beds are very productive, a regional production estimate is not provided in this study because their geographical distribution along the European coastline remains unknown. Measurements of pelagic community respiration are clearly too sparse, especially below the euphotic zone, to yield an accurate picture of the fate of organic matter produced in the water column. With a mean value of 17 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, benthic community respiration consumes approximately 40% of the pelagic organic matter production. Estuaries generally exhibit high metabolic rates and a large range of variation in all parameters, except microphytobenthic primary production. Finally, the problem of eutrophication in Europe is discussed and the metabolic data obtained in the framework of the Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project are compared with available direct measurements of net ecosystem production.     

Semidiurnal Dynamics of Salinity, Nutrients and Suspended Particulate Matter in an Estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, during a Spring Tide Cycle

The physical and chemical variability of the water column at subtidal station of an estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, was studied over a 24-hour period during a spring tide (tidal range ca. 2 m) in May 1995. Surface water and several depths through the water column were monitored every one and two hours, respectively. At each occasion, water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration were measured and water samples were collected for the determination of nutrients and suspended particulate matter (SPM). Disruptive changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of the water was produced by the tidal cycle and the mixing of water masses of different origin. These changes were highly significant both spatially and temporally, yet with varying effects on physical parameters, nutrients and the different components of SPM. Significant differences in nutrient concentrations were also observed when the data-set was divided into ebb and flood components, irrespective of the depth. Nitrate and nitrite rose to 1.8 times higher during the flood. Spatial differences of SPM were less marked than those of nutrients, only particulate organic carbon (POC) being significantly higher at the surface than in the intermediate and the lower layer. Both POC and pheopigment concentrations increased markedly through the water column, being highest shortly before the lower low tide. In contrast, suspended solid (SS) content increased sharply after the lower low tide (>40 mg l⁻¹) and this coincided with a marked decrease of the C/SS content (<20 mg g⁻¹). The lagtime between POC and SS tidal transport was caused by particle resuspension from the exposed intertidal sediments as the tidal level rose, and particle transport selection in relation to the tidal state. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Longitudinal and depth variation of bacterioplankton productivity and related factors in a temperate estuary

Bacterioplankton productivity (BP) spatial variation was investigated in relation to potential resources, including primary productivity and dissolved organic matter, in the micro-tidal Neuse River–Pamlico Sound estuarine system, North Carolina, USA. Estuarine BP was predicted to correlate with the trophic gradient, decreasing along the salinity gradient in parallel with the decrease in organic matter and primary productivity. This prediction was tested over four years at spatial scales ranging from kilometers to meters along the riverine axis and with depth. The general pattern of BP across the salinity gradient was unimodal and matched the phytoplankton patterns in peak location and variability. Peak locations varied with discharge, especially in 2003 when above average discharge moved peaks downstream. Spatial coherence of BP with other variables was much less at short time scales. The effect of temperature, nutrients, and phytoplankton on BP varied by location, especially fresh versus brackish stations, although only temperature explained more than 20% of the BP variation. Depth variation of BP was as great as longitudinal variation and bottom samples were often higher than surface. BP was strongly correlated with particulate organic carbon at the pycnocline and bottom, highlighting the importance of particulate matter as a resource. Station-averaged BP and phytoplankton data corresponded well with two published meta-analyses, although the offset of the freshwater station suggested longitudinal differences in community composition or resource availability.     

Sensitivity to stress of the estuarine bivalve Macoma balthica from areas between the Netherlands and its southern limits (Gironde)

Variation in the sensitivity to stress of Macoma balthica was measured in several French and Dutch estuaries. For adult and juvenile Macoma balthica exposed to copper under conditions of starvation, differences in mortality rate, condition, glycogen, burrowing rate and copper content were assessed. No significant differences were observed between adults and juveniles; the influence of treatment and origin was always evident. Animals from the most southern estuaries, Loire and Gironde, near to the species's southern limit of distribution, showed, in the field, the strongest deviations for the ecophysiological traits measured, and were in the experiments the most sensitive to stress.