Reproduction and recruitment patterns of the surf clam Donax serra (Bivalvia,Donacidae) on two Namibian sandy beaches

Reproduction and recruitment of the surf clam Donax serra on two Namibian beaches were studied over a period of two years. Histological examination of the gonads indicated a discontinous annual reproductive cycle, related to monthly mean sea surface temperature. The spawning season lasted from August/September to February, but juveniles (2 – 6 mm anterior-posterior shell length) were only present for three months in the intertidal zone. The condition index indicates that the species spawns during autumn and summer, but histological validation is needed. The period when juveniles are abundant is decoupled from the spawning period and therefore cannot be predicted clearly, even if the spawning period is known. Starvation, hydrodynamic processes, chemical parameters and different release times during the spawning period are thought to cause the differences in settlement time and recruitment strength between locations.     

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A comparison of condition factor and gonadosomatic index of sardine Sardinops sagax stocks in the northern and southern Benguela upwelling ecosystems, 1984–1999

Time-series of condition factor (CF) and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were generated using general linear models (GLM) for sardine Sardinops sagax stocks in the northern and southern Benguela ecosystems over the period 1984–1999. During this period the biomass of sardine in the northern Benguela remained at relatively low levels of <500 000 tons, whereas that of southern Benguela sardine increased 40-fold to 1.3 million tons. The GLMs explained 27 and 45% of the observed variation in CF, and 32 and 28% of the observed variation in GSI, for sardine in the northern and southern Benguela subsystems respectively. Whereas the sardine CF in the northern Benguela remained stable over time, that for the southern Benguela stock declined steadily during the study period. Sardine CF showed a seasonal cycle in the southern but not in the northern Benguela. Time-series of GSI showed high interannual variability but no trends in either subsystem, and the seasonal pattern was similar for both stocks. The lack of coherence between the CF time-series for sardine in the two subsystems further suggests that sardine stocks in the northern and southern Benguela subsystems are independent.     

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Impact and implications of large-scale environmental anomalies on the spatial distribution of spawning of the Namibian pilchard and anchovy populations

Trends in the spatial pattern of spawning of pilchard Sardinops ocellatus and anchovy Engraulis capensis during the period 1971–1985 were examined in relation to large-scale environmental anomalies outside the spawning area. Shifts in the locality of peak spawning of anchovy often coincided with that of pilchard, although sometimes anchovy were slower to respond to an environmental change. With negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies spawning shifted northwards, whereas with positive anomalies spawning took place both in the north and farther south. With a transition from negative SST anomalies early in the spawning season to zero or positive anomalies later in the spawning season, the impact on anchovy and pilchard spawning differed. Anchovy spawning was either reduced or absent during the negative phase of transitional seasons, thus avoiding unfavourable conditions. Pilchard, on the other hand, were spawning mainly in the north during the negative phase of the transitional seasons, but also in the south during the zero to positive phase. The shifts in spawning locality in response to environmental anomalies outside the spawning area imply that explanations for such shifts need not be sought in changes in biomass or age structure or in the fact that stocks may be genetically different, all theories previously advanced.     

Increased Particle Fluxes at the INDEX Site Attributable to Simulated Benthic Disturbance

Abstract

Particle fluxes were measured 7 m above the sea bottom during the predisturbance, disturbance, and postdisturbance periods by using time series sediment traps attached to seven deep-sea moorings deployed in the INDEX experiment site in the Central Indian Basin. The predisturbance particle fluxes varied between 22.3 to 55.1 mg m^?2 day^?1. Increased and variable particle fluxes were recorded by the sediment traps during the disturbance period. The increase observed was 0.5 to 4 times more than the background predisturbance fluxes. The increases in particle fluxes (～4 times) recorded by the sediment trap located in the southwestern direction (DMS-1) were the greatest, which could be the result of preferential movement of resuspended particles generated during the deep-sea benthic disturbance along the general current direction prevailing in this area during the experimental period. Also, the traps located closer to the disturbance area recorded greater fluxes than did the traps far away, across the Deep Sea Sediment Resuspension System path. This variability in recorded particle fluxes by the traps around the disturbance area clearly indicates that physical characteristics such as grain size and density of the resuspended particles produced during the disturbance had an important effect on particle movement. The postdisturbance measurements during ～5 days showed a reduction in particle fluxes of ～50%, indicating rapid particle settlement.     

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正An Chengbang 20141016Bai Daoyuan 20140594Bai Ru 20140890Bai Yunshan 20140707Ban Junsheng 20141251Bao Xijie 20141074Bian Fei 20140708Bian Ruikang 20140891Bie Xiaojuan 20141075Cai Jinhui 20140806Cai Xiaoju 20141153Cao Huawen 20140709Cao Hui 20140807Cao Junfeng 20141163Cao Lingmin 20140634Cao Xianzhi 20140595Cao Xingsong 20141164