Chevron Ridges and Runup Deposits in the Bahamas from Storms Late in Oxygen-Isotope Substage 5e

Landward-pointing V-shaped sand ridges several kilometers long are common along the windward margin of the Bahama Islands. Their axes share a northeast–southwest trend. Internally, the ridges contain low-angle oolitic beds with few erosional truncations. Commonly interbedded are tabular, fenestrae-rich beds such as those formed by the sheet flow of water over dry sand. Defined here as “chevron ridges,” these landforms appear to have originated in the rapid remobilization of bank margin ooid bodies by the action of long-period waves from a northeasterly source. Deposits along adjacent coastlines also preserve evidence of the impact of large waves. Reworked eolian sand bodies preserve beach fenestrae and hydraulic scour traces up to +40 m on older ridges. On cliffed coasts, 1000-ton boulders have been thrown well inland, recording the impact of large waves. Amino acid ratios confirm a correlation of the ridges across the archipelago, while stratigraphy, spacing, and cross-cutting relationships indicate emplacement as sea level fell rapidly from the substage 5e maximum at or above +6 m.     

Effects of kelp Ecklonia maxima inclusion in formulated feed on the growth,feed utilisation and gut microbiota of South African abalone Haliotis midae

The effect of kelp Ecklonia maxima inclusion in formulated feeds on abalone growth and gut bacterial communities has not been previously investigated in South Africa. An eight-month on-farm growth trial was conducted with sub-adult Haliotis midae (～43 mm shell length) fed graded levels of kelp in formulated feeds. Kelp inclusion (0.44–3.54% of pellet dry mass) promoted faster growth (65.7–74.5% total mass gain), with better feed and protein conversions (apparent feed conversion ratio [FCR] 1.4–1.8, apparent protein efficiency ratio [PER] 2.3–2.7), as compared with the non-supplemented feed (52.3% total mass gain, FCR 2.1, PER 1.9; p < 0.001). Abalone-gut bacterial DNA was sequenced using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and the sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at a 97% similarity level. A supplementary 16S rRNA gene denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis was employed. The dominant OTUs differed in terms of their relative abundances, with an autochthonous Mycoplasma strain being significantly more abundant (p = 0.03) in the gut of abalone fed a kelp-supplemented feed. The DGGE band patterns displayed higher within-group variability for abalone fed the control diet, suggesting that dietary kelp inclusion promotes gut-bacteria homeostasis. This may contribute to better feed utilisation and growth in abalone fed kelp-supplemented feeds.     

Age verification,growth and life history of rubyfish Plagiogeneion rubiginosum

Age verification of rubyfish (Plagiogeneion rubiginosum) was sought using the bomb radiocarbon chronometer procedure. Stable isotopes were investigated for life history characteristics. Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) levels were measured in micro-samples from five otoliths that had been aged using a zone count method. All the core ¹⁴C measurements were ‘pre-bomb’ indicating ages of at least 45 years, and the ¹⁴C measurements across the otolith sections suggested that the zone-count ageing method described herein is not biased. Maximum estimated age was 100 years. There was no significant between-sex difference in the von Bertalanffy growth curves. The δ¹⁸O values indicated that rubyfish are near-surface as juveniles, and move deeper with age. Adults appear to reside in 600–1000 m; this is deeper than most trawl-capture data suggest, but not implausible, and has stock assessment implications. The δ¹³C values reflect fish metabolic rates, trophic feeding levels and oceanographic conditions. The stable isotopes record the environmental life history of each fish, and have value in distinguishing stocks and/or indicating vertical and latitudinal migratory patterns.     

Rapid sea level and climate change at the close of the Last Interglaciation (MIS 5e): evidence from the Bahama Islands

The geology of the Last Interglaciation (sensu stricto, marine isotope substage (MIS) 5e) in the Bahamas records the nature of sea level and climate change. After a period of quasi-stability for most of the interglaciation, during which reefs grew to +2.5 m, sea level rose rapidly at the end of the period, incising notches in older limestone. After brief stillstands at +6 and perhaps +8.5 m, sea level fell with apparent speed to the MIS 5d lowstand and much cooler climatic conditions. It was during this regression from the MIS 5e highstand that the North Atlantic suffered an oceanographic “reorganization” about 118±3 ka ago. During this same interval, massive dune-building greatly enlarged the Bahama Islands. Giant waves reshaped exposed lowlands into chevron-shaped beach ridges, ran up on older coastal ridges, and also broke off and threw megaboulders onto and over 20 m-high cliffs. The oolitic rocks recording these features yield concordant whole-rock amino acid ratios across the archipelago. Whether or not the Last Interglaciation serves as an appropriate analog for our “greenhouse” world, it nonetheless reveals the intricate details of climatic transitions between warm interglaciations and near glacial conditions.     

Effect of graded levels of dietary carbohydrate on growth,feed utilisation and intestinal microbial community structure in dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus fed a pelleted diet

The ability to utilise carbohydrates is limited for many predatory marine fishes. Graded levels of dietary carbohydrate (4.1–24.6%) were formulated using pregelatinised maize starch, to determine optimal levels for dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus, an emerging mariculture finfish for which pelleted feeds are being developed. Specific growth rate increased with an increase in the carbohydrate level up to 16.72%, after which it declined. Feed utilisation followed a similar trend, with the best feed conversion ratio (1.28) and protein efficiency ratio (1.76) recorded at 16.4% carbohydrate. Lipid vacuolisation of the hepatocytes was evident in all livers examined, with melano-macrophage aggregates in those of fish fed 24.6% carbohydrate suggesting starvation. Gut bacterial community profiles were variable but were not influenced by dietary carbohydrate level and differed mostly between fish fed trout feed prior to the trial and those fed experimental diets containing starch. The dusky kob were able to clear glucose from their blood when fed up to 16.4% carbohydrate, but glucose removal was not achieved at 24.6% carbohydrate. In conclusion, dusky kob has a limited ability to utilise cooked starch as a carbohydrate source, which may be included in pelleted feed at 16.4% without adverse effects. For this species, levels of dietary carbohydrate above this may result in symptoms consistent with physiological breakdown, including reduced growth, reduced feed intake and feed conversion efficiency, prolonged hyperglycaemia, liver pathology and altered microbial communities in the foregut.     

Synthetic shorelines in New Zealand? Quantification and characterisation of microplastic pollution on Canterbury's coastlines

Microplastics are persistent environmental contaminants found in marine environments worldwide. Microplastic particles isolated from coastlines in the Canterbury region of New Zealand were quantified and characterised. Sediment samples were collected from 10 locations representing exposed-beach, estuarine and harbour environments in both urban and non-urban settings. Particles were isolated from sediments using an NaCl density-separation procedure and quantified and characterised with a combination of optical/fluorescence imaging and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Microplastics were detected at eight out of 10 locations, at concentrations ranging from 0–45.4 particles kg^?1 of dry sediment. The majority of microplastics were identified as polystyrene (55%), polyethylene (21%) and polypropylene (11%). Microplastic concentrations in exposed-beach environments were significantly greater than in harbour and estuarine environments.     

A sustained +21 m sea-level highstand during MIS 11 (400 ka): direct fossil and sedimentary evidence from Bermuda

A small, protected karstic feature exposed in a limestone quarry in Bermuda preserved abundant sedimentary and biogenic materials documenting a transgressive phase, still-stand, and regressive phase of a sea-level in excess of 21.3 m above present during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 (400 ka) as determined by U/Th dating and amino acid racemization. Cobbles and marine sediments deposited during the high-energy transgressive phase exhibit rim cements indicating a subsequent phreatic environment. This was succeeded stratigraphically by a still-stand deposition of fine calcareous lagoonal sediments containing bioclasts of red algae and benthic and planktonic foraminifera that was intensely burrowed by marine invertebrates, probably upogebiid shrimp, that could not be produced under any condition other than sustained marine submergence. Overlying this were pure carbonate beach sands of a low-energy regressive phase containing abundant remains of terrestrial and marine vertebrates and invertebrates. The considerable diversity of this fauna along with taphonomic evidence from seabird remains indicates deposition by high run-up waves over a minimum duration of months, if not years. The maximum duration has yet to be determined but probably did not exceed one or two thousand years. The most abundant snails in this fauna are two species indicative of brackish water and high-tide line showing that a Ghyben-Herzberg lens must have existed at > + 20 m. The nature of these sediments and fossil accumulation is incompatible with tsunami deposition and, given the absence of evidence for tectonic uplift of the Bermuda pedestal or platform, provide proof that sea-level during MIS 11 exceeded +20 m, a fact that has widespread ramifications for geologists, biogeographers, and human demographics along the world's coastlines.     

塔里木盆地库鲁克塔格地区二叠纪末-中三叠世基性岩床的发现及其地质意义

新疆塔里木盆地东北缘库鲁克塔格地区的中寒武统莫合尔山组沉积地层中发现三条形成于二叠纪末到中三叠世的基性岩床。三条岩床沿沉积岩层面顺层侵入,按照从下到上的顺序,分别为辉绿岩床(厚3m)、辉长岩床(厚20m)和粗玄岩床(厚2.5m)。三条岩床的地球化学特征相似,稀土含量高(∑REE=210×10^-6~297×10^-6),轻稀土元素富集((La/Yb)_N =13.54~17.96),Eu负异常不明显(δEu=0.97~1.21),Ce稍具正异常(δCe=1.11~1.25)。大离子亲石元素(Rb、Ba、Th、Sr)富集,Sr具明显正异常; Ta、Nb和Hf具负异常。低氧化度(0.13~0.40)。三条岩床为同源岩浆活动的产物,岩浆源于上地幔或下地壳,但有下陆壳成分混染。三个样品的MgO含量在4%~6%之间,Mg^#值在37.6~55.6之间,固结指数SI值位于18.7~29.3之间,反映原始的岩浆经历了比较明显的分异作用。粗玄岩床K-Ar年龄为255.2±7.3Ma,辉绿岩床K-Ar年龄为242.8±5.7Ma,辉长岩床Ar-Ar年龄为229.7±3.7Ma。本次岩浆侵入事件发生在南天山洋闭合之后,构造背景为造山后碰撞伸展环境。     

Chronostratigraphy and morphological changes in Cerion land snail shells over the past 130 ka on Long Island,Bahamas

Despite the nearly 600 named species of the land snail Cerion, studies of the geological and paleontological framework of modern species are few. To address this deficiency, the biostratigraphic succession of Cerion was investigated at several areas on Long Island, Bahamas. A chronostratigraphic framework was developed through whole-rock and Cerion land snail aminostratigraphies. About 175 individual Cerion shells from last interglacial and Holocene deposits were age-ranked using stratigraphic position and amino acid racemization (AAR) geochronology. AAR ages were generated using an existing AAR-¹⁴C age model for Cerion from the central Bahamas. The age structure of Cerion fossils in sediments was determined with AAR ages, and the magnitude of “dead carbon” anomalies was evaluated using this chronological approach.Temporal changes in gross shell morphology were examined from four study areas. The last interglacial, marine isotope stage/substage (MIS) 5e (Aminozone E) is characterized by generally large shells and in some cases, bimodal sets of very small (α shells) and very large forms (β shells) coexisting in the same stratigraphic levels (primarily soils), which may encompass the transition from between MIS 5e and 5d/c. Similar bimodality of nearly identical α and β shell forms and sizes is observed at other late MIS 5e sites from the furthest reaches of Great Bahama Bank (including Long, Exumas, Eleuthera, and New Providence Islands). The widespread distribution of α and β forms in soils capping MIS 5e marine and eolian deposits implies that there may have been a synchronous, regional morphological convergence on Great Bahama Bank. None of these forms are observed in Holocene deposits of Aminozone A.The earliest MIS 1 Cerion appear in a oolite deposited 6500 a BP, and are of intermediate size compared to the Pleistocene α and β forms. As MIS 1 progressed, the diversity of shell sizes and shapes increased into modern times. The greater variety of shell forms over the past 1000–2000 a suggests that humans may have played a role in the introduction and redistribution of Cerion across the region. The potential for frequent and widespread human introductions, combined with the propensity of Cerion to hybridise freely may explain the farrago of shell sizes and shapes in the recent snail faunas of Long Island and other Bahama islands.     

Geomorphic evidence of major sea-level fluctuations during marine isotope substage-5e, Cape Cuvier, Western Australia

A detailed geomorphologic and morphostratigraphic investigation of raised marine terraces at Cape Cuvier, Western Australia, reveals two morphologically distinct units. A lower, well-developed accretional reef terrace between 3 and 5.5 m above MLWS (mean low-water springs; hereafter denoted as “+”) represents an extended interval of stable sea level. An upper erosional terrace and incipient coralgal rim between + 8.5 to 10.5 m represents a brief sea-level stillstand at this higher elevation. These features suggest the lower and upper terraces developed during discrete sea-level events. In an attempt to better define the timing of emplacement of each marine unit, 20 coral samples collected along vertical and lateral reef growth axis from both terraces were analysed with U-series dating. Unfortunately, all coral samples exhibited elevated δ²³⁴U_initial values, suggesting that pervasive uptake of ²³⁴U-enriched uranium and ²³⁰Th thorium had occurred. Despite the shortcomings of absolute dating, a succession of events can be resolved though morphostratigraphic relationships. Comparison of the facies relationships, coral growth, and morphostratigraphic features between the lower and upper terraces indicates that an early to mid MIS 5e stillstand at + 3 to 5 m was followed by a late rise to + 8.5 to 10.5 m. This agrees with an emerging global view of MIS 5e sea-level history derived from stable carbonate platforms, rejecting the hypothesis that these higher sea-level benchmarks are an artefact of localized tectonic processes.