Direct effects of Daphnia-grazing, not infochemicals, mediate a shift towards large inedible colonies of the gelatinous green alga Sphaerocystis schroeteri

The influence of Daphnia galeata×hyalina grazing and of infochemicals released by the daphnids on the colony size and growth rate of the colonial gelatinous green alga Sphaerocystis schroeteri (Chlorococcales) was investigated in laboratory batch experiments run for 96 h. High zooplankton grazing pressure was exerted by a final concentration of 100 daphnids L⁻¹ in the Daphnia treatments. Infochemicals were obtained by filtration (0.2 μm) of water from D. galeata×hyalina cultures (200 ind. L⁻¹ exposed for 24 h). This filtrate was added to the S. schroeteri cultures in two concentrations corresponding to 7 and 50 daphnids L⁻¹, respectively. The growth rate of S. schroeteri was neither affected significantly by direct Daphnia grazing nor by the presence of Daphnia infochemicals, in comparison to the control. However, the portion of inedible S. schroeteri colonies (diameter>50 μm) increased under direct grazing pressure, whereas the Daphnia infochemicals did not influence the colony size significantly. We conclude that the shift in colony size by direct zooplankton grazing denotes an effective defence mechanism against size selective feeding for colonial gelatinous green algae. This effective defence in combination with unchanged growth rates of the larger colonies (under non-limiting nutrient and light conditions) falsifies the assumption of a trade-off between minimising grazing losses and maximising growth by optimising the colony size.     

Seasonal dynamics of aggregates and their typical biocoenosis in the Elbe Estuary

In 1995, an extensive investigation was carried out in the Elbe Estuary in Germany. Special attention was paid to organisms, including bacteria, amoebae, ciliates, flagellates, rotifers, larvae ofDreissena polymorpha, and nematodes, dispersed in the water column and associated firmly or loosely with different types of aggregates. The abundance, size, and colonization by microorganisms of the aggregates varied during the seasons. The largest aggregates were found during spring and summer, when diatoms, rotifers, and crustaceans were present. The most aggregates were encountered in spring and from summer to autumn. Most of the species observed during the study were more common in pelagic habitats than in benthic ones. However, the presence of ciliates in the groups Hypotrichida and Sessilida as well as as flagellates in the groups Biosoecida, Cercomonadida, Choanoflagellida, Chrysomonadida, Kinetoplastida, and amoebae and some nematodes in the open water depends, upon the availability of surfaces, because they are sessile or poor swimnters, and some flagellates and amoebae need to attach themselves to an object to feed. Most organisms were much more abundant in or on aggregates than in the surrounding water during spring and summer, which indicates that aggregates enhance the habitat and promote the development of the organisms. From spring through autumn, the structure of the community associated with the aggregates is influenced by the pelagic environment. The presence of the species in the benthic community was detected only during summer.     

Mineralogy of sedimentary formations in the western North Atlantic Ocean: Preliminary results

Six sedimentary formations, and two separate members recently were described byJansa, et al. (1979) from the western North Atlantic Ocean basin. We have investigated the mineralogical composition of these lithostratigraphic units by qualitative X-ray diffraction analyses of about five hundred samples from DSDP Sites 105, 106, 386, 387, and 391. The sedimentary section studied, from bottom to top, consists of: argillaceous limestones (Cat Gap Formation); limestones (Blake-Bahama Formation); claystones and shales (Hatteras Formation); zeolitic claystones (Plantagenet Formation); nannofossil marls (Crescent Peaks Member); siliceous oozes, clays, and cherts (Bermuda Rise Formation), and hemipelagic muds (Blake Ridge Formation) that locally contain redeposited shallow-water carbonates (Great Abaco Member). The section ranges in age from Oxfordian at the base to Quaternary at the sea-floor.Most of the formations and members described byJansa, et al. (1979) have a characteristic mineralogical composition. Thus it is possible to recognize boundaries between formations and members by changes in mineral components, although these changes range from sharp to transitional. Within the same formation local differences in mineral spectra between sites can be explained by changing distance from terrigenous sources, lateral changes in surface paleoproductivity, and varying diagenetic conditions.

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Zusammenfassung Sechs sedimentäre Formations und zwei dazugehörige Members wurden vor kurzem durchJansa, et al. (1979) aus dem Ozeanboden des westlichen Nordatlantik beschrieben. Wir haben die Mineralzusammensetzung dieser lithostratigraphischen Einheiten anhand von etwa 500 qualitativen röntgenographischen Analysen untersucht; die Proben dazu entstammen den DSDP-Bohrungen 105, 106, 386, 387 und 391. Vom Liegenden zum Hangenden lassen sich folgende Einheiten unterscheiden: Tonige Kalksteine (Cat Gap Formation); Kalksteine (Blake-Bahama Formation); Tonsteine und shales (Hatteras Formation); Zeolithische Tonsteine (Plantagenet Formation); Nannofossil-Mergel (Crescent Peaks Member); Kieselige Schlamme, Tone und Hornsteine (Bermuda Rise Formation) und Hemipelagische Schlamme (Blake Ridge Formation), die lokal umgelagerte Flachwasser-Karbonate (Great Abaco Member) enthalten. Das Gesamtprofil reicht altersmäßig von Oxfordium an der Basis bis zum Quartär.Die meisten der vonJansa, et al. (1979) beschriebenen Formations und Members haben eine charakteristische Mineralzusammensetzung; es ist daher möglich, Grenzen sowohl zwischen Formations als auch zwischen Formations und Members anhand ihrer Mineralkomponenten zu erkennen; der entsprechende Wechsel kann scharf sein oder fließende Übergänge aufweisen. Lokale Unterschiede in den Mineralspektren einer Formation zwischen einzelnen Bohrpunkten lassen sich auf wechselnde Entfernungen vom Liefergebiet bzw. unterschiedliche Liefergebiete selbst, auf laterale Wechsel in der oberflächennahen Paläo-Produktivität und/oder auf unterschiedliche diagenetische Bedingungen zurückführen.

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Résumé Six »formations« sédimentaires ainsi que deux »members« séparés ont été ré cemment décrits parJansa, et al. (1979) dans la partie nordouest du bassin de l'océan Atlantique. Nous avons étudié, d'un point de vue qualitatif, la composition minéralogique de ces unités lithostratigraphiques à partir de l'analyse diffractométrique d'environ 500 échantillons provenant des sites DSDP 105, 106, 386, 387 et 391. Les sections sédimentaires examinées comprennent de bas en haut: Des calcaires argileux (Cat Gap Formation); des calcaires (Blake-Bahama Formation); des argilites et des argiles schisteuses (Hatteras Formation); des argilites zéolitiques (Plantagenet Formation); de la marne aux nannofossiles (Crescent Peaks Member); des boues silicieuses, des argiles et du silex (Bermuda Rise Formation), ainsi que des boues hémipélagiques (Blake Ridge Formation) qui contiennent par endroits des carbonates resédimentaires provenant d'un milieu peu profond (Great Abaco Member). Leur âge s'échelonne de l'Oxfordien à la base jusqu'au Quaternaire au fond océanique.La plupart des »formations« et des »members« décrits parJansa, et al. (1979) ont une composition minéralogique caractéristique. Il est donc possible de reconnaître les limites entre des »formations« et des »members« à partir des changements de la composition minéralogique, bien que ces changements varient du net au transitoire. Dans une même formation on peut expliquer les différences locales des spectres minéraux entre les sites, par la variation de distance des sources terrigènes, des changements latéraux de la paléoproductivité de surface et des conditions diagénétiques variables.

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Jansa . (1979) 6 2 . 500 . 105, 106, 386, 387, 391. : — Cat Gap —, — Blake-Bahama —, — Hatteras'a —, — Plantagenet —, - — Crescent Peaks —, , — Bermuda Rise — — Blake Ridge —, — Great Abaco. . Jansa ; , , , . , ., , / .

     

Current state and trends in Canadian Arctic marine ecosystems: II. Heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling, and biodiversity

As part of the Canadian contribution to the International Polar Year (IPY), several major international research programs have focused on offshore arctic marine ecosystems. The general goal of these projects was to improve our understanding of how the response of arctic marine ecosystems to climate warming will alter food web structure and ecosystem services provided to Northerners. At least four key findings from these projects relating to arctic heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling and biodiversity have emerged: (1) Contrary to a long-standing paradigm of dormant ecosystems during the long arctic winter, major food web components showed relatively high level of winter activity, well before the spring release of ice algae and subsequent phytoplankton bloom. Such phenological plasticity among key secondary producers like zooplankton may thus narrow the risks of extreme mismatch between primary production and secondary production in an increasingly variable arctic environment. (2) Tight pelagic-benthic coupling and consequent recycling of nutrients at the seafloor characterize specific regions of the Canadian Arctic, such as the North Water polynya and Lancaster Sound. The latter constitute hot spots of benthic ecosystem functioning compared to regions where zooplankton-mediated processes weaken the pelagic-benthic coupling. (3) In contrast with another widely shared assumption of lower biodiversity, arctic marine biodiversity is comparable to that reported off Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada, albeit threatened by the potential colonization of subarctic species. (4) The rapid decrease of summer sea-ice cover allows increasing numbers of killer whales to use the Canadian High Arctic as a hunting ground. The stronger presence of this species, bound to become a new apex predator of arctic seas, will likely affect populations of endemic arctic marine mammals such as the narwhal, bowhead, and beluga whales.     

Baily’s Beads Atlas in 2005 – 2008 Eclipses

In the annular or total eclipses of 3 October 2005, 29 March 2006, 22 September 2006, and 1 August 2008, observational campaigns were organized to record the phenomenon of Baily’s beads. These campaigns were internationally coordinated through the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) at both its American and European sections. From the stations in the northern and southern zones of grazing eclipse, the eclipses have been recorded on video. Afterward, as many beads as possible have been identified by analyzing the video data of each observing station. The atlas presented in this paper includes 598 data points, obtained by 23 observers operating at 28 different observing stations. The atlas lists the geographic positions of the observing stations and the observed time instants of disappearance or reappearance of beads, identified by an angle measured relative to the Moon’s axis of rotation. The atlas will serve as a basis for determining the solar diameter. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Warming the early earth—CO2 reconsidered

Despite a fainter Sun, the surface of the early Earth was mostly ice-free. Proposed solutions to this so-called “faint young Sun problem” have usually involved higher amounts of greenhouse gases than present in the modern-day atmosphere. However, geological evidence seemed to indicate that the atmospheric CO₂ concentrations during the Archaean and Proterozoic were far too low to keep the surface from freezing. With a radiative-convective model including new, updated thermal absorption coefficients, we found that the amount of CO₂ necessary to obtain 273 K at the surface is reduced up to an order of magnitude compared to previous studies. For the late Archaean and early Proterozoic period of the Earth, we calculate that CO₂ partial pressures of only about 2.9 mb are required to keep its surface from freezing which is compatible with the amount inferred from sediment studies. This conclusion was not significantly changed when we varied model parameters such as relative humidity or surface albedo, obtaining CO₂ partial pressures for the late Archaean between 1.5 and 5.5 mb. Thus, the contradiction between sediment data and model results disappears for the late Archaean and early proterozoic.     

Slow, but steady: dispersal of freshwater molluscs

Molluscs are the proverbial examples of slow movement. In this review, dispersal distances and speed were assessed from literature data. Active upstream movement can occur both individually and in groups; and depends on traits such as size, sex and reproductive status, and on external factors such as flow velocity, temperature, sediment structure, and food availability. The potential for active dispersal follows the sequence Pulmonata ≥ Prosobranchia > Bivalvia, although data for Pulmonata originated from short-term experiments that likely overestimated dispersal capabilities. Active upstream movement may be 0.3 to 1.0 km per year for most snails and is probably well below 0.1 km per year for bivalves. Natural passive upstream dispersal increases the range 10-fold (snails) to 100-fold (bivalves), and anthropogenic vectors can increase upstream dispersal more than 100-fold (snails) to 1000-fold (bivalves). Three km seems to be the maximal within-stream distance at which many species display regular population mixing, and at which re-colonisation or successful restoration can be expected within 3–10 years. Lateral dispersal between unconnected water bodies is passive and mostly known from observational reports, but potential distances depend on vectors, climate and geomorphology. In general, active dispersal seems insufficient to furnish a compensatory mechanism, e.g., for the rate of projected climate change. We provide an overview on dispersal strategies in the light of applied issues. More rigorous field surveys and an integration of different approaches (such as mark-recapture, genetic) to quantify distances and probabilities of lateral dispersal are needed to predict species distributions across space and time.