Oxygen Consumption and Dissolved Inorganic Nutrient Production in Marine Coastal and Shelf Sediments of the Middle Atlantic Bight

The benthic oxygen demand and inorganic nutrient release have been investigated in the coastal zone of the Mid-Atlantic Bight of the United States using in situ and ship-board incubations to estimate fluxes across the sediment-water interface. Oxygen demand ranged from ca. 70 ml m⁻² hr⁻¹ nearshore in warm (25°C) muddy sediments to ca. 4 ml m⁻² hr⁻¹ in cold (6°C), coarse-grained sediments offshore. Ammonium ion flux was out of the sediments in all but 4 of 29 incubations, while nitrate was often found to be utilized within or on the sediments, decreasing in 10 of 29 incubations. Those locations with fluxes of nitrate out of the sediment had concentrations in the pore water that were generally high, sometimes up to several mM l⁻¹. Nitrate fluxes were always well below those of ammonia, even where high almost equivalent concentrations of both NH₄ and NO₃ were found at the same locale. On George's Bank only 13 % of total N demand by the phytoplankton was estimated to be supplied by the benthos, whereas in New York Bight the supply amounted to 42 % of the demand. This difference can be attributed to higher pelagic biological and advective (mixing and upwelling) inputs to George's Bank compared to the relatively well stratified New York Bight in late summer and autumn.     

江苏典型淤长岸段潮滩盐生植被及其土壤肥力特征

江苏沿海中部在辐射沙洲的屏蔽下 ,成为典型的淤长性岸段。滩涂土壤具有特殊的肥力特征。通过对东台市笆斗垦区这一典型淤长性海岸外侧潮滩断面的地形测量和盐土植被群落调查 ,结合历年 TM遥感卫星影像图片 ,选择了 5个地点 ,分别代表海堤内茅草滩、海堤外茅草滩、原生盐蒿滩、由互花米草演替而来的盐蒿滩及互花米草滩 ,并对各代表点进行群落样方调查和土壤采样 ,对土壤样品进行有机质含量、总氮含量等肥力特征的分析。结果表明 :11号点的有机质和全氮最高 ,分别为 1.6 32 %和 0 .0 6 7% ,3号点的全磷最高 ,为 0 .15 1% ,而 5号点的全钾和全盐最高 ,分别为 1.72 4 %和 1.82 3%。2 1号点的有机质和全氮在表层非常高 ,到第 2层急剧下降 ,再往下变化也较小 ,其变化幅度明显高于其他点。 3各点土壤的平均粒径从 1号点向 5号点逐渐变粗。对这些土壤肥力特征和盐生植被的关系进行了分析和讨论 ,指出凡受互花米草影响的土壤 ,其垂直变化梯度较小 ,而其它盐土植被类型土壤的垂直变化梯度较大     

庄河海域菲律宾蛤仔底播增殖区自身污染

采用生物沉积物捕集器和封闭式代谢瓶,周年现场研究了庄河海域菲律宾蛤仔的生物沉积速率、排氨率和排磷率.结果表明:菲律宾蛤仔的生物沉积速率、排氨率和排磷率均具有明显的季节变化.生物沉积速率为0.15～1.47 g·ind-1·d-1(年均0.61 g·ind-1·d-1);其排氨率及排磷率分别为0.02～0.40 mg·ind-1·d-1(年均0.17 mg·ind-1·d-1)和0.01～0.39 mg·ind-1·d-1(年均0.13 mg·ind-1·d-1).根据以上结果,估算庄河海域底播增殖菲律宾蛤仔每年产生的生物沉积物达到5.46×107t(干质量),折合有机物9.07×106t、有机碳1.00x106t和有机氮1.18xlO5t;而氨氮和磷酸盐分别为1.49x104t和1.15x104t.表明浅海高密度、规模化菲律宾蛤仔增养殖区自身污染严重,其对环境的影响不可忽视.     

基于COⅠ基因对温州沿海岛屿疣荔枝螺遗传多样性研究

温州沿海岛屿众多,水文环境复杂,疣荔枝螺(Reishia clavigera)是岩相潮间带常见种,对其群体间遗传多样性的分析,有助于合理保护和开发利用种质资源。本实验对温州沿海14个典型岛屿的158个疣荔枝螺个体,进行细胞色素氧化酶亚基Ⅰ(COⅠ)基因片段序列测定,得到158条长度为672bp的序列,A、T、C、G四种碱基含量分别为23.0%、38.4%、17.4%和21.2%。共检测到保守位点562个,变异位点108个,其中包括简约信息位点57个,单突变位点51个。所有个体的核苷酸多样性指数Pi为0.008 0±0.029 7,单倍型多样性为指数Hd为0.978±0.006,平均核苷酸差异度为5.328。群体间遗传距离在0.005 7～0.011 1之间,群体内遗传距离在0.005 7～0.010 8之间,不同疣荔枝螺群体之间的遗传距离处于同一水平。霓屿岛和大竹峙岛群体内遗传距离最小,洞头岛群体内遗传距离最大。共检测到102个单倍型,大部分单倍型聚合为一支,没有形成明显的区系结构,各个岛屿的疣荔枝螺存在基因交流。     

Epibionts on the krill (Euphausia pacifica) from the E coast of Japan

Fernandez‐Leborans, G. 2011. Epibionts on the krill (Euphausia pacifica) from the E coast of Japan. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00 : 1–10. Specimens of Euphausia pacifica collected from shallow waters of the E coast of Japan showed ciliate epibionts belonging to two suctorian species: Ephelota plana and Gymnodinioides sp. The epibionts were present in a total of 27 anatomical units of E. pacifica, in numbers fluctuating between 8 and 80 individuals per basibiont. Gymnodinioides showed the highest mean number of epibionts. The presence–absence of epibionts indicated some specificity of the species by different locations on the basibiont body, which is corroborated by the analysis of the colonization throughout the longitudinal axis of the basibiont. Ephelota plana was recorded by the first time on E. pacifica, while Gymnodinioides sp. extended its geographical area with respect to previous studies. Morphological, taxonomical features of the species and the statistical analysis of their spatial distribution on E. pacifica are included.     

Heavy Metal Pollution in Reef Corals of Tuticorin Coast,Southeast Coast of India

This work investigates the metal pollution documented in the skeletons of selected coral species like Acropora formosa, Montipora digitata and Porites andrewsi from the Tuticorin Coast, one of the least studied areas in the Bay of Bengal. Relating heavy metal concentrations to morphological features of skeletons, highest concentrations of all the metals (except Cu and Zn) were found in ramose or branching types of corals. Irrespective of their growth characteristics or patterns, all these species displayed higher concentrations of Pb, Ni, Mn, and Cd within the skeletal part. The study area is currently exposed to a larger degree of metal pollution (natural and anthropogenic) than even before, as a result of the increasing environmental contamination from sewage discharges, the misuse of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers, and top soil erosion. The concentrations of heavy metals obtained in the present study are compared with values from earlier works around the world. This study indicates that corals are vulnerable to the accumulation of high concentrations of heavy metals in their skeletons and therefore can serve as proxies to monitor environmental pollution.     

Climate and vegetation in China (I). Changes in the altitudinal lapse rate of temperature and distribution of sea level temperature

Changes in the altitudinal lapse rate of temperature (ALRT) and temperature distribution at sea level were studied all over China, using temperature records from 671 meteorological stations during a statistical period from 1951 to 1980. ALRT varied regularly with distance from the eastern and south eastern coast (DC) with a minimum at about 600 km DC and a maximum at 1600–2000 km DC. The ALRT curve pattern was closely related to the mean altitude. The reliability of this trend was verified by calculating ALRT for each latitude group. Values of ALRT did not show any latitidinal trend within a distance group from the coast. An empirical equation was proposed for the relation between the DC and ALRT, and the ALRT for each meteorological station was estimated from the equation. The annual and monthly mean temperatures at sea level were calculated using the ALRT, and distribution maps were constructed. The isotherms ran almost parallel to latitude in January, and roughly parallel to the coastline in July. High temperatures at sea level were remarkable in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau, Sichuan Basin, Daxingan Ling and the area surrounding the Tien Shan Mountains.     

Construction history of the Deason House,Jones County,Mississippi

The Deason House is located in the heart of the Piney Woods region in the town of Ellisville, Mississippi. During the American Civil War, the Deason House became the epicenter for an event that started a rebellion against the Confederate government. On 5 October 1863, a Confederate deserter named Newton Knight allegedly shot and killed Confederate Major Amos McLemore in the Deason House, which eventually lead to the formation of the Free State of Jones. Despite the historical importance of the house, oral accounts and written documents have failed to provide accurate construction history of the structure. We coupled techniques of dendrochronology and geophysical survey to better understand the construction history of the Deason House and cultural activities of its inhabitants. We extracted 35 Pinus palustris (Mill.) timbers along the west-facing exterior weatherboards and from various logs within the second-floor attic, 25 of which were successfully crossdated against a P. palustris reference chronology located 15 km south in De Soto National Forest (1742–2013). The Deason House chronology anchored against the De Soto time series during the period 1742–1875 (r = 0.55, t = 4.01, p < 0.0001) and extended the reference chronology back to the year 1680 CE. Clustering of cutting- and near-cutting dates from timbers revealed 3 possible stages of construction. First, the house likely existed as a single-pen structure built in the winter of 1835/1836, based on two timbers with wane/bark that were affixed to the original chimney made of clay bricks fired on the homestead. Second, based on the clustering of 1855 cutting dates, we suggest this was the most likely time the original structure was expanded with a vestibule, porch, and larger 4-room house. Finally, six timbers revealed a back addition was constructed in the year 1866. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) helped provide evidence mentioned in written records that the back addition (1866) existed as the detached kitchen then was affixed to the structure ca. 1890. The GPR data revealed geophysical anomalies that indicated the original sites of the detached kitchen, water well, livestock pen, privies, and trash pit. Through the use of dendrochronological analyses and geophysical survey, we were able to provide an updated history of the Deason House construction dynamics and cultural activities of its inhabitants beyond the historical record.     

The potential for mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 (Crustacea: Brachyura) invasion of Pacific Northwest and Alaskan Estuaries

Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 is on the list of top 100 invaders compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The recent establishment of a large Chinese mitten crab population in San Francisco Bay and the potential for introductions from California, Asia and Europe pose a significant invasion potential for estuaries and rivers from California to Alaska. This alien species would place at risk the catchment areas of the Pacific Northwest including the economic and social activities that depend upon intact aquatic systems. An analysis of ecological conditions that define the mitten crab’s native and introduced range suggests that large stable estuaries with long flushing times are necessary to sustain significant populations. Most Pacific Northwest estuaries have limited salinity intrusion, estuarine habitat and short flushing times and face a reduced risk of population establishment. Large, stable estuaries, such as the Puget Sound, may support significant populations. River-dominated estuaries, such as the Columbia River, have flushing times less than the duration of larval development and wouldn’t support populations. An application of a temperature based larval development rate to near-shore and estuary sea surface temperatures suggests that estuaries in Oregon and Washington have sufficient thermal regimes to support larval development. Most estuary systems in Alaska have limited periods where water temperatures are above the mortality threshold for the larval stages and are at a low risk for the establishment of populations. A potential sea temperature rise of two degrees Celsius would permit larval development in Alaskan estuaries, where sufficient estuarine and freshwater habitats exist.