Modern and early Holocene mollusc fauna of the Ounianga lakes (northern Chad): implications for the palaeohydrology of the central Sahara

The fresh and saline lakes of Ounianga Kebir and Serir in northeastern Chad are among the very few permanent aquatic ecosystems currently existing in the hyper‐arid core of the Sahara desert. The confirmed modern fauna of aquatic molluscs at Ounianga comprises three widespread species (Melanoides tuberculata, Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Lymnaea natalensis), of which only the first appears to maintain a thriving population. We recovered seven more species of gastropods, among which one is new to science (Gabbiella ouniangaensis), and one bivalve species from early Holocene outcrops of diatomaceous limestone at Ounianga Serir. All species except one are known to be commonly spread between lake and river systems by birds, and in its entirety this species‐rich fossil mollusc fauna of Ounianga Serir resembles that of other Saharan lake sites known to have been hydrologically isolated during the early Holocene. The impoverished modern mollusc fauna, which lacks even the widespread and opportunistic species Bulinus truncatus, may have become established relatively recently through new colonisation events, following eradication of the early Holocene mollusc fauna during a later episode of high salinity or desiccation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AVAILABILITY OF PHOSPHORUS FROM SELECTED INORGANIC PHOSPHATES TO JUVENILE ABALONE, HALIOTIS DISCUS HANNAI INO

The availability of phosphorus to juvenile abalone,Haliotis discus hannai from primary, secondary and tertiary calcium phosphate, primary sodium or potassium phosphate separately or in combination was determined in a 120-day feeding trial. Seven semi-purified diets were formulated to contain relatively constant dietary phosphorus, ranging from 0.78%–0.82%. The concentrations of dietary phosphorus were presumed to be slightly below the requirement for abalone. A brown alga,Laminaria japonica, was used as a control diet. Abalone juveniles of silimar size (average weight 1.18 g; average shell length 18.74 mm) were distributed in a single-pass, flow-through system using a completely randomized design with eight treatments and three replicates each treatment. The survival ranged from 71.1% to 81.1%, and was not significantly (P>0.05) related to dietary treatment. However, the weight gain rate (41.72%–65.02%), daily increment in shell length (36.87–55.07 μm) and muscle RNA-DNA ratio (3.44–4.69) were significantly (P<0.05) affected by dietary treatment. Soft body alkaline phosphatase activity (10.9–19.8 U/g wet tissue) and carcass levels of lipid (7.71%–9.33%) and protein (46.68%–49.35%) were significantly (P<0.05) responsive to available phosphorus of the diets. Dietary treatment had significant effect (P<0.05) on concentrations of phosphorus in the whole body (WB) and soft body (SB). Apparent digestibility coefficients (45%–97%) of phosphorus were also significantly (P<0.05) different between dietary treatments. The results indicated that among these inorganic compounds, primary calcium, potassium and sodium phosphates separately or in combination could be utilized effectively by juvenile abalone as dietary phosphorus sources (availability ranging from 87%–97%). However, secondary and tertiary calcium phosphates were found to be low in availability, the values being 45% and 77%, repectively. Project 39670572 supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).     

Late Pleistocene Palaeoenvironments of the Southern Lake Agassiz Basin,USA

Macroscopic plant remains, pollen, insect and mollusc fossils recovered from a cut bank on the Red River in North Dakota, USA, provide evidence that an extensive wetland occupied the southern basin of Lake Agassiz from 10 230 to 9900 ¹⁴C yr BP. Marsh‐dwelling plants and invertebrates had colonised the surface of a prograding delta during the low‐water Moorhead Phase of Lake Agassiz. A species of Salix (willow) was abundant along distributary channels, and stands of Populus tremuloides (aspen), Ulmus sp. (elm), Betula sp. (birch), and Picea sp. (spruce) grew on the better‐drained sand bars and beach ridges. Most of the species of plants, insects, and molluscs represented as fossils are within their existing geographic ranges. Based on a few species with more northerly distributions, mean summer temperature may have been about 1–2°C lower than the present day. No change in species composition occurred in the transition from the Younger Dryas to Preboreal. At the time that the wetland existed, Lake Agassiz was draining either eastward to the North Atlantic Ocean or northwestward to the Arctic Ocean. The wetland was drowned during the Emerson Phase transgression that resulted in meltwater draining southward to the Gulf of Mexico after 9900 ¹⁴C yr BP. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AVAILABILITY OF PHOSPHORUS FROM SELECTED INORGANIC PHOSPHATES TO JUVENILE ABALONE,HALIOTIS DISCUS HANNAI INO.

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＳｔｕｄｉｅｓｏｎｐｈｏｓｐｈｏｒｕｓｍｅｔａｂｏｌｉｓｍｉｎｆａｒｍｅｄｓｐｅｃｉｅｓｈａｖｅｂｅｃｏｍｅａｐｏｐｕｌａｒｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈｓｕｂｊｅｃｔｒｅｃｅｎｔｌｙ ,ｄｕｅｔｏｔｈｅｉｎｃｒｅａｓｅｄｐｕｂｌｉｃｃｏｎｃｅｒｎｏｎｔｈｅｉｍｐａｃｔｏｆｐｈｏｓｐｈｏｒｕｓｄｉｓｃｈａｒｇｅｆｒｏｍｌｉｖｅｓｔｏｃｋａｎｄａｑｕａｃｕｌｔｕｒｅｓｙｓｔｅｍｓｏｎｔｈｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔ (Ｓｋｏｎｂｅｒｇｅｔａｌ.,1 997;ＥｙａａｎｄＬｏｖｅｌｌ,1 997) .Ｐｈｏｓｐｈ…     

Biology and Population Dynamics of Donax trunculus L. (Bivalvia: Donacidae) in the South Adriatic Coast (Italy)

Biology and population dynamics of the suspension-feeding wedge clam Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) were studied for 13 months (November 1994–April 1996) along the Italian Southern Adriatic coast near the Lagoon of Lesina. Specimens were found at depths between 0 and 2 m, mainly in fine grain bottoms. The spatial coastal distribution showed an intraspecific segregation between young and adult wedge clams. A unimodal recruitment (length >4 mm) occurred in winter (December–February). Length frequency distributions were used to determine age and growth rate. Three year classes were regularly observed and their growth pattern defined. The population showed a maximum length of 37 mm and a longevity of 4 years. Analysis of seasonal variations in the reproductive cycle showed that gametogenesis occurred in spring in females. After the spawning season (March–July) females of D. trunculus remained in a resting stage from August to January.     

Pliocene sedimentation in a shallow, cool-water, estuarine gulf, Murray Basin, South Australia

The Pliocene Norwest Bend Formation is a well‐preserved succession of terrestrial and shallow‐marine deposits in the Murray Basin, South Australia. Sediments in this unit consist of two discrete terrigenous clastic‐rich, decametre‐scale sequences, or informal members, which record episodes of marine incursion during the Early and Late Pliocene respectively. The base of each sequence is a transgressive lag and/or strandline deposit that is transitional upwards into a highstand, subtidal, terrigenous clastic and cool‐water carbonate sediment accumulation. The top of each sequence is incised by fluvial channels that are filled by river deposits which formed as relative sea‐level fell and terrestrial environments prograded basinward. Sedimentological data suggest that gross stratigraphic architecture was primarily determined by glacioeustasy. Differences in sedimentary style between these two sequences, however, reflect a major climatic change that took place in southern Australia during the mid‐Pliocene. The lower quartzose sand member is formed of siliciclastic sediment derived from prolonged, deep, subaerial weathering and contains a bivalve‐dominated, cool‐temperate, open‐marine mollusc assemblage. These sediments accumulated under an equitable, relatively warm, humid climate. The Murray Basin during this time, because of high fluvial discharge, was a salt‐wedge estuary with typical estuarine circulation. In contrast, the upper, oyster‐rich member is typified by large monospecific oyster buildups that grew in restricted coastal environments. Strandline deposits contain a warm‐temperate skeletal assemblage. Contemporaneous aeolian sediments accumulated under warm, semi‐arid climatic conditions. Well‐developed ferricrete, silcrete and calcrete horizons reflect cyclic conditions of rainwater infiltration and evaporation in the seasonally dry climate that typifies southern Australia today. Highly seasonal rainfall produced an estuary that fluctuated annually from being well to partially mixed. These Pliocene sediments support the notion that mollusc‐rich facies are the signature of cool‐water carbonate accumulations in inboard neritic environments. Unlike bryozoans that dominate the outer parts of Cenozoic cool‐water carbonate shelves, molluscs evolved to exploit an array of coastal ecosystems with wide salinity variations and variable sedimentation rates.     

Post-mortem transport of freshwater mollusc shells in the northern Caspian Sea: A cautionary note on the implications for palaeoecological reconstructions

Fossils of stenohaline taxa are frequently used in palaeoecological and archaeological investigations to indicate the former position of deltas or the occurrence of freshwater conditions. However, the post-mortem transport of freshwater mollusc shells from deltaic and other areas can complicate interpretation of fossil assemblages. We present an example from the north Caspian Sea that shows that failure to consider these taphonomic processes can lead to erroneous conclusions.     

流式细胞术比较研究4种双壳贝类血细胞的分群

应用流式细胞术对太平洋牡蛎(Crassostrea gigas)、海湾扇贝(Argopecten irradians)、虾夷扇贝(Patinopecten yessoensis)和毛蚶(Scapharca subcrenata)4种双壳贝类的血细胞分类进行了比较。根据其血细胞的前向角散射光(FSC)和侧向角散射光(SSC)特性的不同将血细胞分群,FSC和SSC二维图分析发现太平洋牡蛎、海湾扇贝和虾夷扇贝的血细胞都可分为3个亚群,即透明细胞、小颗粒细胞和大颗粒细胞,而毛蚶的血细胞只可区分为透明细胞和颗粒细胞2个亚群。同时还对这4种双壳贝类各种血细胞所占比例进行了比较研究,发现各亚群细胞所占比例差异很大。     

Living macromolluscs from a paleo-reef region on the northeastern Venezuelan continental shelf

Drowned reefs, fossil reefs or paleo-reefs, are important ecologically as areas of high biodiversity, foraging, shelter environment, and as areas supporting the spawning aggregations of economically important reef fish species. This is particularly significant when the structures are situated in a wide soft-bottom continental shelf. The presence of limestone structures, fossil reefs and pinnacles dating from circa 8 to 9 ka, to the north of the Paria Peninsula in north-eastern Venezuela, has been known to local fishermen for decades. Using echograms obtained during acoustic fisheries evaluations and the scarce previously available information, an improved location map of hard-bottom structures was made. Benthic samples to study macromolluscs were taken at depths between 54 and 93 m using an unmodified 2-m beam trawl. Four trawl samples were located over fossil reef areas while another four were situated in soft-bottom valleys between limestone structures. Fossil reefs in the area showed a highly patchy distribution. A total of 91 species from 43 Bivalvia, Gastropoda and Scaphopoda families were found, Gastropoda being the dominant class with 49 species. Paleo-reef-covered areas showed higher species richness and only 21% of the species found were common to both substrates. Gastropods Tonna maculosa and Polystira albida were the most abundant species and occurred in both substrate types. Bivalve life habits, a mixture of organism–substrate relationships, shell fixation, mobility and feeding type, differed significantly according to bottom type. Six species are recorded for the first time for eastern Venezuelan waters. Bottom heterogeneity plays an important role in marine ecosystems, providing shelter to fish populations and may be significant as breeding and nursery areas. Its presence in a region with biogeographical interest, situated in the confluence of three major provinces and with oceanographic conditions varying seasonally from upwelling dominated to Orinoco River discharges, makes this the area of interest and it should be evaluated as a possible Marine Protected Area.     

Growth rates of the infaunal bivalve Soletellina alba (Lamarck, 1818) (Bivalvia: Psammobiidae) in an intermittent estuary of southern Australia

Caging and a mark–recapture design were used to estimate the growth rate of the brittle, infaunal bivalve Soletellina alba in the Hopkins River estuary. The growth of both caged and uncaged individuals was monitored at three sites near the mouth of the estuary over 180 days. Growth rates did not differ for caged and uncaged bivalves, or for bivalves subject to different amounts of handling, or between sites. Growth did differ between consecutive time intervals, which was attributable to negligible growth occurring during the colder months of autumn/winter. Comparisons of the condition (as indicated by total mass for length³) of S. alba were inconsistent between sites for caged and uncaged bivalves and for those subject to different amounts of handling. Soletellina alba is a rapidly growing bivalve with mean growth rates for the three time intervals being 0.04±0.002 mm day⁻¹ in summer, 0.02±0.001 mm day⁻¹ in autumn and 0.03±0.001 mm day⁻¹ from summer to winter. Using existing literature, it was shown that a significant relationship exists between maximum shell length and onset of sexual maturity in bivalve molluscs. This relationship predicts that S. alba should reach the onset of sexual maturity at 15.8 mm length. Therefore, it appears that it may be possible for juvenile S. alba (<1 mm) to grow, reach sexual maturity and reproduce in between annual mass-mortality events caused by winter flooding.