The pteridophytes of Mauritius (Indian Ocean): ecology and distribution

A survey of the pteridophytes of Mauritius is presented, including a summary of their habitats, ecology, and phytogeographical affinities. Of the 186 infrageneric taxa recorded from the island, 8 are adventive or naturalized, and 27 are presumed rare or extinct. Major ecological groupings are presented and species are listed for both indigenous and secondary plant communities.     

Greta's Garbo: stranded seeds and fruits from Greta Beach, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean

Aim To describe the species composition of stranded seeds and fruits drifted by ocean currents to Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Location Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Methods Frequent visual searches along the strand line of the island's few accessible beaches over a 4-year period 1988–92, with most effort concentrated on Greta Beach, on the east coast. Results The collection contained not fewer than sixty-three species in forty-nine genera and twenty-nine families. Leguminous seeds were by far the most common (especially Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb., Dioclea spp., Entada spp., Erythrina spp. and Mucunagigantea (Willd.) DC.), but Calophyllum inophyllum L., Guettarda speciosa L., Hernandia ovigera L., Heritiera littoralis Aiton and Terminalia catappa L. were also common. Main conclusions Only about one-third of species recorded in the drift flora are native to the island, and most disseminules stranded on the island are probably not locally derived. The most likely distant sources of drift disseminules are probably the southern Indonesian islands and Sumatra, with most disseminules probably arriving via the Timor and Arafura Seas between Indonesia and Australia. However, some disseminules may originate from as far east as the Moluccas and the east coast of Kalimantan. The majority of species recorded in the drift flora are not native to the island, and yet some of these were encountered frequently and displayed a high degree of viability on arrival (e.g. Dioclea hexandra (Ralph) Mabb., Erythrina fusca Loureiro and Mucuna gigantea (Willd.) DC.). Several possible reasons for the failure of many drift species to establish on the island are discussed.     

夏季西南印度洋叶绿素a分布特征

分析了2011年1月西南印度洋叶绿素a的分布特征及其粒级结构,并结合水动力学环境和营养盐数据探讨了其主要影响因素。结果表明,西南印度洋副热带涡流(IOSG)区表层叶绿素a浓度较低,不超过0.07 mg/m3,次表层叶绿素a浓度最大值所在水层较深,超过100 m;副热带聚集区(SCZ)表层叶绿素a浓度较高(0.164—0.247 mg/m3),次表层叶绿素a浓度最大值出现在50—70 m层。硝酸盐是该海区浮游植物生长的主要限制因素。微微型(pico)粒级的浮游植物占绝对优势,所有站位其对总叶绿素a的平均贡献率为71.1%,微型(nano)粒级次之(24.2%),小型(net)粒级所占比例最小(4.7%),其中IOSG区pico粒级对总叶绿素a的平均贡献率为77.9%,SCZ的pico粒级对总叶绿素a的平均贡献率为66.7%。IOSG区和SCZ海区之间水动力学环境的不同,可能导致了这两个海区叶绿素a的分布特征及粒级结构的较大差异。     

Exploitation of marine turtles in the Indian Ocean

Marine turtles long have been of great value to peoples of the Indian Ocean, nutritionally, economically, and culturally. Once directed primarily toward subsistence, the hunting of marine turtles for international trade has increased; today their populations are often so depleted that they are not only insignificant as resources, but are endangered. An understanding of exploitation is imperative to guarantee future populations, yet available information is sketchy. Subsistence hunting is an ambiguous term, since the most intense exploitation is for export. Historically this has involved Chelonia and Eretmochelys, whose populations are now much reduced. Yet, newly discovered populations (Lepidochelys especially) are being exploited, under the stimulus of new foreign markets (e.g., leather), and their fates seem even less hopeful than those of long-exploited populations. Moreover subsistence hunting for immediate local consumption has led to depletion of nesting and feeding populations of turtles in areas where protein sources are in great demand and human population densities high. Neither the future nor the solution to this dilemma is clear, but it is obvious that economic considerations must be carefully considered, and ecological arguments alone are insufficient to manage these resources.     

Deep-sea nematodes from the Indian Ocean: new and known species of the family Comesomatidae

Twelve new and known species of the genera Sabatieria,Cervonema, Paramesonchium, Hopperia and Dorylaimopsis and one new genus, Kenyanema aredescribed from the Indian Ocean and S. pisinna Vitiello,1970 from the Mediterranean Sea. Sabatieria lucia sp. n.is characterised by short but distinct inner and setiformouter labial sensilla and long (4–5 µm or 30–33% hd)cephalic sensilla; S. conicauda Vitiello, 1970, ischaracterised by tiny inner and outer labial sensilla andsetiform cephalic ones and short and thick cylindrical tail;Sabatieria pisinna is characterised by short innerand outer labial sensilla, setiform (3µm long) cephalicsensilla, multispiral amphids with 3.25–3.5 turns and a tailwhich is conical in the anterior 2/3 and posterior 1/3cylindrical; Cervonema tenuicauda Schuurmans Stekhoven,1950, is characterised by anterior sensilla in twocircles which are equal in length (3µm long), multispiralamphids with 3–4 turns and located at 1.5 times hd from theanterior end, simple spicules one abd long and 6–7 fineprecloacal supplements; Cervonema minutus sp. n.characterised by an extremely attenuated anterior end,spiral amphids with 4–5 turns (80–90% cbd) and short,simple spicules (0.8 abd long); Cervonema gourbaulti sp.n. characterised by long (4–5 µm) labialand cephalic sensilla, spiral amphids with 5–6 turns(73–88% cbd) and an elongate crenate terminal pharyngealbulb; Paramesonchium mombasi sp. n. characterised bylong labial (5 µm) and cephalic (21 µm) sensilla thatare close together and wide amphids (80–90% cbd); Kenyanema monorchis gen. et sp. n. characterised bya head region narrower than the rest of the body, fourcephalic sensilla (3 µm long) and spiral amphids with1.5–2 turns; Hopperia indiana sp. n. characterised byshort conical anterior sensilla, arcuatespicules that have a velum and a gubernaculum with a longand sharp pointed apophysis; Dorylaimopsis coomansi sp.n. characterised by long (8–10µm) cephalic setae,cuticular punctation with lateral differention of irregularlyarranged dots at the pharyngeal region and 1–3longitudinal rows of dots posterior of the pharynx; spiculeswith a unique shape; Dorylaimopsis gerardi sp. n.characterised by short setiform labial and long (6–7 µm)cephalic sensilla, punctated cuticle with lateraldifferentiation of irregularly arranged dots at firstthen three or four irregularly arranged longitudinal rows atthe pharyngeal and tail regions and two regularly arrangedlongitudinal rows of dots on the rest of the body, aconico-cylindrical tail with a distinctly swollen tip;Dorylaimopsis variabilis sp. n. is characterised byshort labial and setiform cephalic sensilla (33–58% hd),multispiral amphids with three turns, cuticular punctationswith lateral differentiation of three longitudinalrows at the pharyngeal and tail regions and two longitudinalrows on the rest of the body, spicules that are thin andslightly arcuate. The position of S. pisinna accordingto the grouping of Platt, 1985 of Sabatieriaspp. is also discussed. Kenyanema monorchis representsthe first monorchic species in the family.     

Stolidobranch ascidians from the tropical western Indian Ocean

Coastal ascidians collected over two centuries from Suez to Mozambique have been successively deposited in the MNHN and are now described and figured. Some of them were already known from the Indian Ocean, others are common to the Pacific, and some others are new species. Even though the present taxonomic work notably increases our knowledge of the tropical eastern African coast, it comprises so many miscellaneous collections from such distant points that it can only begin to suggest the diversity of ascidians there. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 135 , 65–120.     

Monognathus berteli sp. nov. from the Indian Ocean (Pisces,Monognathidae)

A new deepsea monognathid species,Monognathus berteli, is described based on one specimen collected pelagically in the northwestern Indian Ocean at 1440–1018 meters of depth. LikeM. taningi andM. bertini, it belongs to the short-skulled species-group and has very long pectoral fins, but differs from these species by several meristic characters. The described specimen has a very long caudal filament (53% SL) which is not known from otherMonognathus. However, the fragile filament is not used as a diagnostic character since it could easily be broken.     

Two peculiar new genera of Typhloplanoida from the Western Indian Ocean

Three new species and two new genera of Typhloplanoida from the Western Indian Ocean are described. Feanora brevicirrus gen. et.sp. n. is a member of the Trigonostomidae von Graff, 1905 sensu Den Hartog, 1964. It has a cirrus, paired ovovitellaria and an undifferentiated afferent duct. An excentric bursa opens in the fecundatorium and a large ovoid vesicle enters the afferent duct in its distal part. Gaziella pileola gen. et sp. n. and G. lacertosa sp.n. are two new members of the Promesostomidae Den Hartog, 1964. They have a long cirrus, ovovitellaria and a long muscular female duct with two excentrically placed sperm-receiving vesicles. Their most striking feature is the proboscis-like structure. Feanora and Gaziella are provisionally considered as genera incertae sedis within the resp. families.     

Quality of life in small island nations in the Indian Ocean

Quality of Life (QOL) is a difficult yet valuable concept to use in regional analysis. It is more telling than purely economic measures, such as per capita GNP, but requires caution in the choice of indicators. The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) is used to evaluate the small island developing countries (SIDCs) of the Indian Ocean. It employs infant mortality, life expectancy at age one, and literacy, which are broadly indicative of a wider range of social and physical attributes. In the Indian Ocean, a bimodalism of results is seen, with Reunion, Mauritius, and Seychelles consistently performing very well, while Maldives and Comoros perform poorly. Other QOL measures are examined as supplementary indicators. The PQLI is seen as an excellent comprehensive device for regional QOL analysis.     

印度洋南赤道流区水体叶绿素a的分布及粒级结构

根据2010年4—5月印度洋南赤道流区的综合环境调查资料,对印度洋南赤道流区叶绿素a浓度分布和浮游植物的粒级结构等进行了分析. 结果表明,调查海区水体层化明显,表层水温较高,营养盐浓度较低。调查海区东部测站的数据显示该区域可能受到来自印度尼西亚贯穿流和南爪哇流的影响,有高温低盐的特点。叶绿素a浓度在该海区的分布具有以下特点：（1）表层叶绿素a浓度在整个调查海区虽然普遍较低（平均为（0.1220.052） mg/m3）,但具有明显的空间区域化特征：印度洋南赤道流区中部,叶绿素a浓度较低,站位间分布均匀;东部叶绿素a浓度相对较高,不同测站叶绿素a浓度差异明显.（2）整个调查区域叶绿素a浓度垂直分布具有明显的单峰结构,其最大值分布在60—80m水层,位于营养盐跃层内.（3）叶绿素a的粒级结构分析结果显示,pico级份的浮游植物对叶绿素a的贡献占主导地位,平均为75%,nano级份的贡献平均为20%,net级份对叶绿素a的贡献最小,平均仅有5%. 对比本次调查和在其它海区的研究,表明印度洋南赤道流区属于典型的低纬度寡营养海区,低的营养盐浓度（特别是NO3-浓度）是该海区浮游植物生长的主要限制因素之一.     

Dynamic responses of picophytoplankton to physicochemical variation in the eastern Indian Ocean

Picophytoplankton were investigated during spring 2015 and 2016 extending from near‐shore coastal waters to oligotrophic open waters in the eastern Indian Ocean (EIO). They were typically composed of Prochlorococcus (Pro), Synechococcus (Syn), and picoeukaryotes (PEuks). Pro dominated most regions of the entire EIO and were approximately 1–2 orders of magnitude more abundant than Syn and PEuks. Under the influence of physicochemical conditions induced by annual variations of circulations and water masses, no coherent abundance and horizontal distributions of picophytoplankton were observed between spring 2015 and 2016. Although previous studies reported the limited effects of nutrients and heavy metals around coastal waters or upwelling zones could constrain Pro growth, Pro abundance showed strong positive correlation with nutrients, indicating the increase in nutrient availability particularly in the oligotrophic EIO could appreciably elevate their abundance. The exceptional appearance of picophytoplankton with high abundance along the equator appeared to be associated with the advection processes supported by the Wyrtki jets. For vertical patterns of picophytoplankton, a simple conceptual model was built based upon physicochemical parameters. However, Pro and PEuks simultaneously formed a subsurface maximum, while Syn generally restricted to the upper waters, significantly correlating with the combined effects of temperature, light, and nutrient availability. The average chlorophyll a concentrations (Chl a) of picophytoplankton accounted for above 49.6% and 44.9% of the total Chl a during both years, respectively, suggesting that picophytoplankton contributed a significant proportion of the phytoplankton community in the whole EIO.     

Biodiversity patterns in Indian Ocean corals, and effects of taxonomic error in data

Corals from 26 sites in the Indian Ocean, from numerous taxonomic sources, are analysed for distribution patterns after applying a consistent synonymy. The data set contains double the amount of distribution information used previously. Cluster analysis shows several contiguous regional groupings within this ocean, and no geographically dispersed groupings exist. Between-site species similarity correlates negatively with distance between sites. Coral species diversity and genus diversity plotted with latitude and longitude confirm that a band of high diversity stretches across the entire Indian Ocean, but that in this Ocean, unlike the Pacific and greater Caribbean area, there is no clear gradient with latitude at least up to the latitudinal limits of coral growth. About half the species are widespread throughout the Indian Ocean. Species frequency/distribution curves and cumulative frequency curves show that 150 species occur at only 2–4 sites. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis using only these species confirms that they are important in forming sub-regional groupings which are superimposed on a general Indian Ocean homogeneity.The perennial problem of error in taxonomic data sets is examined. Increasing taxonomic error is introduced into the data using random methods. It is found that about 25% more error can be added to this data set before the relationship between similarity coefficient and geographical distance between pairs of sites is lost. Measures extracted from the clustering procedure using the original data and the data sets with added taxonomic error, show a sharp loss in cluster formation after addition of about 10 or 20% more error.     

Sedimentation on Rasdhoo and Ari Atolls, Maldives, Indian Ocean

A first systematic study of composition, texture, and distribution of modern sediments in two Maldivian atolls reveals the predominance of skeletal carbonates. Fragments of corals, calcareous algae, mollusks, benthic foraminifera, and echinoderms are identified in the grain-size fraction >125 μm. Non-skeletal grains such as cemented fecal pellets and aggregate grains only occur in small percentages. Fragments of skeletal grains, aragonite needles, and nanograins (<1 μm) are found in the grain-size fraction <125 μm. Needles and nanograins are interpreted to be largely of skeletal origin. Five sedimentary facies are distinguished (1–5), for which the Dunham-classification is applied. Fore reef, reef, back reef, as well as lagoonal patch reef and faro areas in both atolls are characterized by the occurrence of coral grainstones (1), which also contain fragments of red coralline algae, the codiacean alga Halimeda, and mollusks. On reef islands, coral-rich sediment is cemented to form intertidal beachrock and supratidal cayrock. Skeletal grains in atoll-interior lagoons are mainly mollusks and foraminifera. The lagoon of Rasdhoo Atoll is covered in the west by mudstones (2), in the center by mollusk packstones (3) and mollusk wackestones (4), and by hard bottoms with corals in the east adjacent to channels through the atoll reef margin. The interior lagoon of Ari Atoll contains mollusk wackestones (4) in the center and mollusk-foraminifer packstones (5). Marginal lagoon areas are characterized by hard bottoms with corals. Facies distribution appears to be an expression of depositional energy, which decreases from the atoll margin towards the center in Ari Atoll, and towards the west in Rasdhoo Atoll. Predominant sediment mineralogies include aragonite and high-magnesium calcite. Mean aragonite content decreases from 90% in coral grainstone to 70–80% in mollusk packstone, mollusk wackestone, and mudstone, and to 50% in mollusk-foraminifer packstone. Stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon in bulk samples range from −3 to −1.5 (δ¹⁸O) and from +0.4 to +3.2 (δ¹³C). It is not possible to delineate facies based on O- and C-isotopes.     

The Bering Strait connection: dispersal and speciation in boreal macroalgae

A large number of boreal seaweeds have either sibling species or conspecific populations of a single species in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. This pattern is thought to have arisen from the dispersal between the two oceans through the Arctic Ocean after the opening of the Bering Strait in the mid-to-late Miocene or earliest Pliocene and from subsequent vicariant speciation as the Arctic Ocean froze and Bering Strait closed intermittently during glacial periods. Recent molecular studies of species in all three major seaweed phyla reveal patterns of vicariance. However, a number of lines of evidence point to differences in origins of these clades; some appear to be Pacific in origin whereas others appear to be derived from Atlantic stock. Different origins can be explained by recent stratigraphic finds that push the first Cenozoic opening of the Bering Strait back from 3.1–4.1 to 4.8–7.4 Ma (million years ago). Northern hemisphere ocean circulation models suggest that water flow would have been from the North Atlantic–Arctic south through the Bering Strait prior to the closure of the Panamanian Isthmus c. 3.5 Ma in contrast to the northward flow from the Pacific into the Arctic and North Atlantic, which developed after the closing of the Isthmus. Despite these differences in timing of the two invasions, there are no significant differences in levels of relationships among species with a North Atlantic origin compared with species with a North Pacific origin based on currently available data. More work is required to understand vicariance in seaweeds, especially in deciphering when a speciation event has occurred.     

The Indian Ocean dipole – the unsung driver of climatic variability in East Africa

A growing body of evidence suggests that an independent ocean circulation system in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD), is partly responsible for driving climate variability of the surrounding landmasses. The IOD had traditionally been viewed as an artefact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system although increasingly the evidence is amassing that it is separate and distinct phenomenon. We review the causes of the IOD, how it develops within the Indian Ocean, the relationships with ENSO, and the consequences for East African climate dynamics and associated impacts on ecosystems, in particular along the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. We evaluate current research initiatives focussed on characterizing and constraining the IOD and examine how effective these will be in determining climate change impacts on East African ecosystems and how such predictive capacity can be used in developing policy.     

印度洋表层海水石油降解菌的多样性分析

【目的】为了研究印度洋石油降解菌多样性,并获得新的石油降解菌。【方法】本研究通过印度洋表层海水样品采集、以柴油与原油1:1混合物作为碳源,从中富集、分离筛选石油降解菌,并通过PCR-DGGE对13个站点富集菌群的菌群结构进行分析。【结果】通过形态观察、生理生化反应和16SrRNA分析,共得到共29个属的51株不同的细菌,它们主要是属于α亚群和γ亚群。其中,Alcanivorax属(占18%),Novosphingobium属(占10%)和Marinobacter(占6%)Thalassospira(占6%)为主要的优势菌。通过生态多样性分析表明,Shannon-Winner指数(H)为4.57968,说明其具有较高的多样性;均匀度指数(E)为0.8664771,表示其分布比较均匀。单菌实验表明,49株具有石油降解能力其中,Sinomonas,Knoellia,Mesoflavibacter等属的细菌为首次发现有降解能力。DGGE分析表明Alcanivorax属的细菌是印度洋表层海水中的重要石油降解菌。【结论】本研究首次揭示了印度洋表层海水中石油降解菌的多样性,并获取了若干在海洋石油污染生物修复中具有应用前景的降解菌。     

Latitudinal range of epiplanktonic chaetognatha and ostracoda in the western tropical Indian Ocean

An account of the chaetognath and ostracod species obtained from zooplankton samples collected along a transect in the Western Indian Ocean between 9° N–20° S and 57° 18–68° 43E in January–February 1981 is given. Species richness was maximum north of 10° S. The latitudinal variation of thirteen species of chaetognaths indicated that many of the typical Indo-Pacific species are restricted to the tropical zone with limited penetration into the subtropical region. All the sixteen species of planktonic ostracods were cosmopolitan. Based on the available information on the distribution of chaetognaths and ostracods, the species assemblages in the Indian Ocean are discussed.     

印度洋中西部和大西洋西部水域大眼金枪鱼的食性比较

根据2004年8月至2005年3月大西洋西部水域及2003年12月份至2004年5月份在印度洋中西部水域金枪鱼延绳钓渔业所获取的大眼金枪鱼数据,对两个诃查区域内的大眼金枪鱼食性进行了研究。结果表明,印度洋中西部水域大眼金枪鱼的食物组成包括沙丁鱼、鱿鱼、乌贼等13个饵料类群,其中主要摄食鱿鱼和沙丁鱼;大西洋西部水域大眼金枪鱼主要摄食沙丁鱼、鱿鱼、虾类等13种饵料类群,主要以沙丁鱼为饵,其次为鱿鱼。印度洋中西部水域大眼金枪鱼空胃率非常高,基本上维持在60％以上;大西洋西部水域大眼金枪鱼空胃率相对较低,基本上都在30％以下。印度洋中西部水域大眼金枪鱼平均饱满指数变化不大,基本上维持在0．40～0．55之间。大西洋西部水域大眼金枪鱼平均饱满指数变化也不太大。印度洋中西部水域大眼金枪鱼各月平均饱满指数高于大西洋西部水域,且各月空胃率高于后者。印度洋中西部和大西洋西部水域大眼金枪鱼Shannon-Weiner多样性指数H’基本上都1．50～2．00之间变化。相同调查月份内,印度洋中西部水域大眼金枪鱼食物Pielou均匀度指数J’均高于大西洋西部水域。     

Immigration, species radiation and extinction in a highly diverse songbird lineage: white-eyes on Indian Ocean islands

Molecular phylogenetic hypotheses of species-rich lineages in regions where geological history can be reliably inferred may provide insights into the scale of processes driving diversification. Here we sample all extant or recently extinct white-eye (Zosterops) taxa of the southwest Indian Ocean, combined with samples from all principal continental lineages. Results support a high dispersal capability, with at least two independent continental sources for white-eyes of the region. An early (within 1.8 million years ago) expansion into the Indian Ocean may have originated either from Asia or Africa; the three resulting lineages show a disparate distribution consistent with considerable extinction following their arrival. Africa is supported as the origin of a later expansion into the region (within 1.2 million years ago). On two islands, a pair of Zosterops species derived from independent immigrations into the Indian Ocean co-occur or may have formerly co-occurred, providing strong support for their origin by double-island colonization rather than within-island (sympatric or microallopatric) speciation. On Mauritius and La Réunion, phylogenetic placement of sympatric white-eyes allow us to rule out a scenario in which independent within-island speciation occurred on both islands; one of the species pairs must have arisen by double colonization, while the other pair is likely to have arisen by the same mechanism. Long-distance immigration therefore appears to be responsible for much of the region's white-eye diversity. Independent immigrations into the region have resulted in lineages with mutually exclusive distributions and it seems likely that competition with congeneric species, rather than arrival frequency, may limit present-day diversity.