Biological Responses to Seasonally Varying Fluxes of Organic Matter to the Ocean Floor: A Review

Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are sustained largely by organic matter settling from the euphotic zone. These fluxes usually have a more or less well-defined seasonal component, often with two peaks, one in spring/early summer, the other later in the year. Long time-series datasets suggest that inter-annual variability in the intensity, timing and composition of flux maxima is normal. The settling material may form a deposit of “phytodetritus” on the deep-seafloor. These deposits, which are most common in temperate and high latitude regions, particularly the North Atlantic, evoke a response by the benthic biota. Much of our knowledge of these responses comes from a few time-series programmes, which suggest that the nature of the response varies in different oceanographic settings. In particular, there are contrasts between seasonal processes in oligotrophic, central oceanic areas and those along eutrophic continental margins. In the former, it is mainly “small organisms” (bacteria and protozoans) that respond to pulsed inputs. Initial responses are biochemical (e.g. secretion of bacterial exoenzymes) and any biomass increases are time lagged. Increased metabolic activity of small organisms probably leads to seasonal fluctuations in sediment community oxygen consumption, reported mainly in the North Pacific. Metazoan meiofauna are generally less responsive than protozoans (foraminifera), although seasonal increases in abundance and body size have been reported. Measurable population responses by macrofauna and megafauna are less common and confined largely to continental margins. In addition, seasonally synchronised reproduction and larval settlement occur in some larger animals, again mainly in continental margin settings. Although seasonal benthic responses to pulsed food inputs are apparently widespread on the ocean floor, they are not ubiquitous. Most deep-sea species are not seasonal breeders and there are probably large areas, particularly at abyssal depths, where biological process rates are fairly uniform over time. As with other aspects of deep-sea ecology, temporal processes cannot be encapsulated by a single paradigm. Further long time-series studies are needed to understand better the nature and extent of seasonality in deep-sea benthic ecosystems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

台湾海峡及其邻近海域中华哲水蚤的分布和繁殖

中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus Brodsky)是我国近海的优势桡足类。它的数量大，分布广。特别在冬、春季，在我国近海浮游动物中，占有相当大的比例；同时它的个体也较大，是滤食性种类。因其在海洋生态系统的物质循环和能量流动中，起着相当的作用，所以被国家自然科学基金重大项目-“东、黄海生态系统动力学与生物资源可持续利用”课题定为浮游动物的关键种之一。 作者根据以往历史资料(方金钏，1979；朱长寿，1997；朱长寿等，1991、1999；林玉辉等，1988；林元烧等，1984；李少菁，1963；陈清潮，1964；福建省海岸带和海凃综合调查领导小组，1990；福建海洋研究所，1988；Tan，1970)和多年来的研究结果(黄加祺等，1984，1986a、b、c，1989，1991a、b，1997a、b)，对中华哲水蚤在不同水域的分布，与温、盐度关系及繁殖进行了探讨，并提出见解，为本项目子课题提供了历史资料。     

湖北牛山湖高体鳑鮍的年龄、生长与繁殖

图 3　卵粒大小的频数分布 (ａ)具成熟卵细胞 (ｂ)无成熟卵细胞Ｆｉｇ 3ＦｒｅｑｕｅｎｃｙｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｏｆｅｇｇｓｉｚｅｏｆＲｈｏｄｅｕｓｏｃｅｌｌａｔｕｓ(ａ)ｗｉｔｈｓｏｍｅｍａｔｕｒｅｅｇｇｓ ,(ｂ)ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔｍａｔｕｒｅｄｅｇｇｓ图 4繁殖力 (Ｆ ,ｅｇｇｓ)与体重 (Ｗ ,ｇ)及全长 (ＴＬ ,ｍｍ )的关系Ｆｉｇ 4Ｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｓｈｉｐｂｅｔｗｅｅｎｆｅｃｕｎｄｉｔｙ (Ｆ ,ｅｇｇｓ)ａｎｄｂｏｄｙｗｅｉｇｈｔ (Ｗ ,ｇ)ｏｒｔｏｔａｌｌｅｎｇｔｈ (ＴＬ ,ｍｍ)湖北牛山湖高体鳑鮍的年龄、生长与繁殖@…     

Modelling the effects of temperature and food on individual growth and reproduction of Daphnia and their consequences on the population level

Individual based simulations of population dynamics require the availability of growth models with adequate complexity. For this purpose a simple-to-use model (non-linear multiple regression approach) is presented describing somatic growth and reproduction of Daphnia as a function of time, temperature and food quantity. The model showed a good agreement with published observations of somatic growth (r² = 0.954, n = 88) and egg production (r² = 0.898, n = 35). Temperature is the main determinant of initial somatic growth and food concentration is the main determinant of maximal body length and clutch size. An individual based simulation was used to demonstrate the simultaneous effects of food and temperature on the population level. Evidently, both temperature and food supply affected the population growth rate but at food concentrations above approximately 0.4 mg Cl⁻¹ Scenedesmus acutus temperature appeared as the main determinant of population growth.

Four simulation examples are given to show the wide applicability of the model: (1) analysis of the correlation between population birth rate and somatic growth rate, (2) contribution of egg development time and delayed somatic growth to temperature-effects on population growth, (3) comparison of population birth rate in simulations with constant vs. decreasing size at maturity with declining food concentrations and (4) costs of diel vertical migration. Due to its plausible behaviour over a broad range of temperature (2–20 °C) and food conditions (0.1–4 mg Cl⁻¹) the model can be used as a module for more detailed simulations of Daphnia population dynamics under realistic environmental conditions.     

Temporal variability in the maternal environment and its effect on seed size and seed quality in Flourensia cernua DC. (Asteraceae).

The biological phenomenon commonly referred to as maternal effect occurs whenever the environment exerts an influence upon the mother that is later expressed in characteristics of her offsprings. For example, the environmental conditions experienced by a mother plant during flowering and fruiting can modify the quality of her descendants (seeds), and even interrupt their development. Between-year variation in minimum temperature and the classic, between-year variation in precipitation represent an unpredictable environment for winter blooming plants in arid zones. In this study, we investigated the effect of maternal environment (temperature and precipitation) on seed size and seed quality in F. cernua, over a 5-year period. Results indicated that the proportion of filled seeds, as well as their size, increased with higher absolute minimum temperatures during seed formation, and that, to a lesser extent, both the precipitation occurred during the same period and the annual precipitation also have a positive influence on seed size. In this way, environmental conditions prevailing during seed formation exerted a strong maternal effect on the size and quality of seeds produced and, probably also, in the developmental possibilities of F. cernua seedlings. This effect was subject to important, between-year variation.     

微塑料对海洋桡足类摄食、排泄及生殖的影响

微塑料污染目前成为海洋污染普遍关注的一个研究热点。本文在实验室内将青岛近海常见的海洋桡足类猛水蚤暴露于不同浓度的微塑料尼龙6中,研究了猛水蚤的摄食、排泄以及生殖的变化。研究结果表明,微塑料尼龙6对猛水蚤的摄食、排泄、生殖均产生不利的影响,并且存在剂量-效应关系。微塑料尼龙6对猛水蚤摄食率、滤水率、排粪率的24 h·EC 50分别为67.7、62.2、84.1 mg·L^-1,对猛水蚤抱卵率的144 h·EC 50为30.3 mg·L^-1。“饱食感”造成猛水蚤摄食率降低,从而能量和营养摄入不足可能是导致猛水蚤抱卵率降低的原因。猛水蚤对微塑料的摄食,导致猛水蚤排泄的粪便颗粒小型化,由长椭球体变为短小椭球体,可能与其粘度或物理结构的改变有关。暴露于尼龙6的猛水蚤的粪便体积和沉降速率显著低于未暴露微塑料的对照组。本实验结果对于研究微塑料对海洋桡足类以及滤食性浮游动物的生态毒理影响具有一定的帮助。     

Opportunistic-tended life history traits of Siniperca kneri in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China: potential responses to impoundment

Reservoir impoundment changes original fluvial habitats into lentic environments. Fish species adapted to lentic habitats may take the advantage of such habitat changes and show typical life history traits might facilitate the population increase. Siniperca kneri rarely occurred in fishery landing in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area before its impoundment in 2003, but it is now a dominant species. In this study, a total of 438 females of S . kneri were collected monthly during September 2012 through January 2014 using gill nets in the TGR. The age, growth, and reproductive biology were then investigated, and compared with other S . kneri populations. The standard length at age 1 was 149.9 mm in the TGR, which is larger than the three compared populations (i.e., Sandaohe Reservoir, Xinfengjiang Reservoir, and North River), but smaller than one (the Guishi Reservoir). The youngest mature female in the TGR was age 1, which is younger than that of the two compared populations (i.e., Xinfengjiang Reservoir and the North River). The relative fecundity in the TGR was 140 eggs/g, which is higher than that of the only available compared population (Xinfengjiang Reservoir, 96 eggs/g). Our results demonstrated that S . kneri in the TGR tended to have faster growth in the first year, a younger age at first maturation, and higher reproductive eff ort. We suggest that such opportunistic-tended life history traits might facilitate rapid increase of the population.     

The Cabo Frio upwelling overrides geographical patterns in the population dynamics of the shrimp Artemesia longinaris Spence Bate, 1888 (Decapoda: Penaeidae)

Upwelling areas are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet, influencing the biology of marine organisms. This study investigated the population dynamics of the shrimp Artemesia longinaris in two regions in southeastern Brazil, one inside (Macaé—Rio de Janeiro State) and one outside (Ubatuba—State of São Paulo) the Cabo Frio upwelling area. The aim was to verify the influence of the upwelling phenomenon on the abundance, growth, longevity, size of sexual maturity, and reproductive period of the species. In total, 188,902 individuals were captured at Macaé and 3,461 at Ubatuba. Individuals captured at Macaé showed larger maximum size, higher longevity, and slower growth rate, besides reaching sexual maturity at larger sizes than at Ubatuba. Continuous reproduction was observed in both regions, with juvenile recruitment peaks in spring and summer. Local conditions observed at Macaé were influenced by the Cabo Frio upwelling zone, characterized by productive and cooler waters that are around 20°C during most of the year. The upwelling phenomenon is probably the main factor influencing the population parameters studied here, changing the geographic patterns previously observed for the variation of these parameters in A. longinaris.