Diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from the waters of Mauritius (western Indian Ocean) inferred from stomach contents and fatty acid analysis

The diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from their spawning ground in the waters of Mauritius was investigated. The stomach contents of 249 albacore individuals, caught by industrial longliners and artisanal fishers, was analysed, and the dominant prey taxa were selected for lipid and fatty acid (FA) analysis. The FA profiles of prey were compared with those of liver tissue of spawning-capable and post-spawning female albacore, using multivariate analysis. Whereas stomach content analysis identified cephalopods and crustaceans as the dominant prey items in number, FA-profile analysis identified crustaceans and fishes as the most-frequently consumed prey of post-spawning female albacore. In contrast, the FA profiles of spawning-capable albacore and those of prey showed very low similarity. Analysis of the prey suggests that although cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes could all provide albacore with the required lipids and FAs, cephalopod prey seem to be less desirable owing to their lower energy content (i.e. low in total lipid, triacylglycerol, 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1ω9). Instead, the most beneficial food appeared to be locally available fishes, which are more energy-rich and have a higher docosahexaenoic acid/ eicosapentaenoic acid ratio. These results provide new information on the trophic ecology of albacore, promote our understanding of the importance of prey type for successful reproduction of albacore, and highlight the advantages of FA profiling to study diet.     

Interpretation of complex electromagnetic data in seismically active regions: Case study of the Chuya Depression, Mountain Altai

A procedure for the simultaneous interpretation of magnetotelluric and near-field transient electromagnetic sounding (MTS and NF TEMS, respectively) data is proposed. The advantages of the complex interpretation are demonstrated by specific examples. In accordance with the interpretation of the field data, geoelectrical sections of the lithosphere in the western part of the Chuya Depression are constructed. A reduction in the depth to the conductive crustal layer in the epicentral zone is found, and the geoelectrical boundary in the upper part of the paleozoic basement is revealed.     

Magnetotelluric sounding in the Western Transbaikalia segment of the Central Asian fold belt

This paper presents the results of magnetotelluric (MT) studies performed within the Western Transbaikalia segment of the Central Asian fold belt along the Selenga River delta-Krasnyi Chikoi Village profile. The data are interpreted using the results of recent geological, petrological, geothermal, tectonic, and geochronological studies of the Mongolia-Transbaikalian part of the Central Asian fold belt, including large heterochronous igneous provinces and zones. The studies have shown that the investigated area has a complex geologic and tectonic structure produced by extensive rifting leading to the formation of large crustal blocks and by intense magmatic fluid activity along deep fault zones. The investigated profile is characterized by a combination of blocks with different types of geoelectric section—mountain ranges and intermontane basins separated by long-lived deep fault zones.     

Crust structure and composition in the southern Siberian craton (influence zone of Baikal rifting), from magnetotelluric data

The magnetotelluric (MT) profile traverses the southeastern edge of the Siberian craton and the adjacent Paleozoic Olkhon collision zone, both being within the influence area of the Baikal rifting. The processed MT data have been integrated with data on the crust structure and composition, as well as with magnetic, gravity, and seismic patterns. Large resistivity lows are interpreted with reference to new geothermal models of rifted crust in the Baikal region. The northwestern and southeastern flanks of the profile corresponding, respectively, to the craton and the collision zone differ markedly in the crust structure and composition and in the intensity of rifting-related processes, the difference showing up in the resistivity pattern. The high-grade metamorphic and granitic crust of the craton basement in the northwestern profile flank is highly resistive but it includes a conductor (less than 50 ohm · m) below 16–20 km and a nearly vertical conductive layer in the upper crust. The crust in the southeastern part, within the collision zone, is lithologically heterogeneous and heavily faulted. High resistivities are measured mainly in the upper crust composed of collisional plutonic and metamorphic complexes. Large and deep resistivity lows over the greatest part of the section are due to Cenozoic activity and rift-related transcrustal faults that vent mantle fluids constantly recharged from deeper mantle.     

Interblock zones of the northwestern Baikal rift: results of geological and geophysical studies along the Bayandai Village–Cape Krestovskii profile

The structure of the Earth’s crust at the junction of the Siberian craton and Sayan–Baikal Fold Belt was studied along the Bayandai Village–Cape Krestovskii profile (85 km long) by a set of geological and geophysical methods: structural survey, interpretation of long-distance photographs, emanation survey, electrical prospecting with self-potential (SP) and direct-current (DC) resistivity profiling, magnetotelluric sounding, magnetic survey, and hydrogeochemical sampling of water objects. Interpretation of the data refined the main features of the tectonic structure of western Cisbaikalia and revealed the disruption pattern and hierarchic zone–block structure of the Earth’s crust. The Obruchev fault system (≈50 km wide), which is the northwestern shoulder of the Baikal Rift, is the main interblock zone of the studied region. It consists of the Morskoi, Primorskii, and Prikhrebtovyi interblock zones, traced from depths of tens of kilometers and widening near the surface owing to superior structures. The studies gave an insight into the regularities in the occurrence of interblock zones and the criteria for their identification in different geologic-geophysical fields. An efficient complex of methods for mapping the Earth’s crust zone–block structure is proposed.     

Application of medium-scale magnetotelluric sounding to identify deep criteria for promising areas for kimberlite exploration

Medium-scale magnetotelluric sounding conducted within the Malaya Botuobiya (Yakutian diamondiferous province) and Zimnii Bereg (Archangelsk diamondiferous province) kimberlite regions revealed the main features of their geoelectric sections. These features have a genetic relation to the processes of kimberlite formation. All of the known kimberlite pipes of the two regions are located within the outlines of the revealed conducting geoelectric heterogeneities. The presence of such heterogeneities can be regarded as a possible deep criterion for distinguishing promising areas for kimberlite exploration.