Spatial variation of growth and gonadal developments of Maurolicus muelleri in the Norwegian Sea and in a Norwegian fjord

The epibenthic megafauna of the high-Arctic Northeast Greenland shelf was investigated by means of seafloor photography and Agassiz trawl catches. At 54 stations in water depths between 40 and 770 m, sequences of color slides, each depicting about 1 m² of the seafloor, were obtained along photographic transects of about 100 to 600 m length. The photographs were quantitatively analyzed for abundance of epibenthic organisms identified by comparison with specimens collected from trawl catches. Megabenthic biomass was estimated by multiplying density values with averge body mass figures. For five dominant brittle star species, the population oxygen uptake and, thus, organic carbon mineralization potential were approximated by applying individual respiration rates of average-sized specimens to density figures. Multivariate analyses of the megabenthic species distribution revealed a distinct depth zonation. Shallow shelf banks (<150 m), characterized by coarse sediments, many stones and boulders as well as negative bottom water temperatures, housed a rich epifauna (30 to 340 ind m^–2, 1.8 to 10.5 g AFDW m^–2), strongly dominated (80 to 98% by numbers) by the brittle stars Ophiocten sericeum and Ophiura robusta. The oxygen uptake by brittle stars ranged from 0.4 to 95 mol O₂ m^–2 h^–1 (i.e., assuming a respiratory quotient of 0.8, an organic carbon mineralization of 0.1 to 21.9 mg C m^–2 d^–1). At the bank flanks sloping to the shelf troughs (100 to 580 m), finer sediments prevailed, stones were rare, and bottom water temperatures were positive due to the inflow of Atlantic water. Compared to bank sites, total epibenthic abundances as well as carbon mineralization by brittle stars were roughly ten times and total biomass about four times smaller. In deep shelf depressions as well as at the continental slope (200 to 770 m), stones were completely lacking, and sediments very fine. Epibenthic standing stock and carbon mineralization were one to two orders of magnitude lower than on the banks. The estimation of brittle star oxygen uptake indicates that a considerable portion of the organic carbon produced in the polynya and partitioned to the benthos may be remineralized by epibenthic bank assemblages.     

Host glutamine synthetase activities in the giant clam—zooxanthellae symbiosis: effects of clam size,elevated ammonia and continuous darkness

Host tissues and zooxanthellae of the giant clam Tridacna gigas contained glutamine synthetase, with the highest transferase activities present in the gill, followed by the kidney, mantle, zooxanthellae, foot, heart and adductor muscle, in that order. Synthetase activities of glutamine synthetase in host tissues and zooxanthellae were in a similar order, but the differences were not so marked. Host tissues also contained hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase. Highest hexokinase activities were present in the heart, followed, in order, by the gill, mantle, adductor muscle and foot. Highest glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were present in the gill, followed by the mantle, heart, adductor muscle and foot. All tissues assayed contained high malate dehydrogenase activities. There was no detectable glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Glutamine synthetase activity in gill and mantle tissue decreased by 1.6% with every 1 cm increase in clam size. Host glutamine synthetase activity decreased by 80% in gill tissue and by 45% in mantle tissue in clams which were maintained for 8 d in continuous darkness. Similar effects were found when clams were kept in light in the presence of elevated ammonia concentrations. It is suggested that both host and symbionts are nitrogen-deficient in small clams and that host glutamine synthetase plays a role in ammonia assimilation by the intact association.     

Le système assimilation-régénération des sels nutritifs dans les eaux superficielles de l'océan Austral

Low primary-productivity levels in high-nutrient environments of the Southern Ocean are not yet well understood. An accurate knowledge of nutrient assimilation by phytoplankton, at the base of the pelagic food-web, therefore appears to be essential. A study of the mesoscale hydrological structure and chemical observations in the upper layers of the Indian sector of the Antarctic Ocean (Cruise MD-25 FIBEX of M.S. Marion Dufresne, January–February 1981) permitted us to develop a method for estimating nutrient consumption by phytoplankton. After strong vertical mixing in winter, the homogeneous Antarctic Surface Water (ASW) is, in summer, divided into two parts by a well-formed pycnocline. In the upper layer, corresponding approximately to the photic zone, we observed nutrient depletion resulting from photosynthetic activity, while the underlaying thermal minimum layer displayed unaltered winter characteristics, including nutrient concentrations typical of winter surface-water conditions. Taking into account the nutrient depletion in summer, we calculated the assimilation ratios for Antarctic phytoplankton as follows: ([NO ₃ ^- lower]-[NO ₃ ^- upper]):([PO ₄ upper])=N:P=11.2±2.4 and N:Si=0.27±0.05. These ratios are lower than the classical Redfield ratios (N:P=16 and N:Si=1), but are in good agreement with the elementary composition of phytoplankton samples collected during the same cruise. Moreover, they agree with previously published data on stoechiometric determinations of particulate matter in surface-water samples. Besides, in the transition layer between the lower layer and Warm Deep Water (WDW), the calculated mineralization ratios were slightly higher than the assimilation ratios: N:P=14.6 and N:Si=0.37. From these ratios, it would appear that, in these surface layers of the Southern Ocean (down to 250 m), assimilation-regeneration mechanisms operate in such a way that phosphate and silicate contents decrease much more than nitrate content during the northward drift of the surface waters. The determination of assimilation ratios taking into account the nutrient depletion of the upper layer allowed us to evaluate the carbon net-production which integrates time-space variations in the photic layer over the whole early summer period. We estimated a production rate (0.4 g C m^-2 d^-1) of the same order of magnitude as the mean value obtained by the ¹⁴C method (0.2 g C m^-2 d^-1). The theoretic silicium consumption by phytoplankton along a meridian transect, calculated using an estimated assimilation ratio of C:Si=1,85, indicates that the marked south-north decrease in silicate concentration in the Antarctic Surface Water would mainly result from biological activity. The silicate concentrations thus calculated were in good agreement with concentrations measured along a previous transect across the Southern Ocean.

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Le système assimilation-régénération des sels nutritifs dans les eaux superficielles de l'océan Austral

     

Reduction of Cr(VI) by peat and coal humic substances

The reduction of Cr(VI) by humic substances from leonardite and peat was investigated by capillary zone electrophoresis at various pHs. Both humic materials reduced Cr(VI) at pH 5.4, but not at basic pH. The capacity of leonardite humic substances to reduce Cr(VI) was lower than that of peat humic substances. Fe(III) accelerated the reduction of Cr(VI) by peat humic substances, but not by leonardite humic substances. Cr(VI) reduction mechanisms are proposed. The coal humic substances seem more suitable for remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated sites.     

Age-structure dependence of the “specific production” in zooplankton populations

This account represents the results of investigations on the production of some zooplankton populations. For comparing different populations the index specific production (the production rate of the unit of the biomass) is used. The correlation between specific production and age-structure for some populations is described. On the basis of the growth theory of Von Bertalanffy (1938) a theoretical model which helps to explain the relation between specific production and age-structure of the population is proposed.     

Do new health conditions support mortality–air pollution effects?

Epidemiological research underlying US air quality regulations documents significant associations between measures of fine particles and premature mortality. Recent studies examine potential mechanistic pathways, related to heart and lung functioning, that may contribute to the observed deaths. Our results support these pathophysiological analyses. We examine whether the onset of serious health conditions, consistent with disease pathways, is related to current and long-term exposure to particulate matter and ozone. Associations between air pollution and alternative indicators of health status are also evaluated. The 1996 wave of the Health and Retirement Study is used with a two-step estimator acknowledging limitations in our ability to measure individual exposures. The findings suggest significant current and long-term effects of particulates on new cases of heart attacks and angina, reinforcing the disease pathways identified in epidemiological studies. Long-term air pollution exposure is also a determinant of recently diagnosed chronic lung conditions and reports of shortness of breath.     

Fishing and echolocation behavior of the greater bulldog bat,Noctilio leporinus,in the field

When hunting for fish Noctilio leporinus uses several strategies. In high search flight it flies within 20–50 cm of the water surface and emits groups of two to four echolocation signals, always containing at least one pure constant frequency (CF) pulse and one mixed CF-FM pulse consisting of a CF component which is followed by a frequency-modulated (FM) component. The pure CF signals are the longest, with an average duration of 13.3 ms and a maximum of 17 ms. The CF component of the CF-FM signals averages 8.9 ms, the FM sweeps 3.9 ms. The CF components have frequencies of 52.8–56.2 kHz and the FM components have an average bandwidth of 25.9 kHz. A bat in high search flight reacts to jumping fish with pointed dips at the spot where a fish has broken the surface. As it descends to the water surface the bat shows the typical approach pattern of all bats with decreasing pulse duration and pulse interval. A jumping fish reveals itself by a typical pattern of temporary echo glints, reflected back to the bat from its body and from the water disturbance. In low search flight N. leporinus drops to a height of only 4–10 cm, with body parallel to the water, legs extended straight back and turned slightly downward, and feet cocked somewhat above the line of the legs and poised within 2–4 cm of the water surface. In this situation N. leporinus emits long series of short CF-FM pulses with an average duration of 5.6 ms (CF 3.1 and FM 2.6) and an average pulse interval of 20 ms, indicating that it is looking for targets within a short range. N. leporinus also makes pointed dips during low search flight by rapidly snapping the feet into the water at the spot where it has localized a jumping fish or disturbance. In the random rake mode, N. leporinus drops to the water surface, lowers its feet and drags its claws through the water in relatively straight lines for up to 10m. The echolocation behavior is similar to that of high search flight. This indicates that in this hunting mode N. leporinus is not pursuing specific targets, and that raking is a random or statistical search for surface fishes. When raking, the bat uses two strategies. In directed random rake it rakes through patches of water where fish jumping activity is high. Our interpretation is that the bat detects this activity by echolocation but prefers not to concentrate on a single jumping fish. In the absence of jumping fish, after flying for several minutes without any dips, N. leporinus starts to make very long rakes in areas where it has hunted successfully before (memory-directed random rake). Hunting bats caught a fish approximately once in every 50–200 passes through the hunting area.     

A correlative study on liver glycogen and endosulfan toxicity in Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch.)

The biochemical tests were conducted to find out the relationship between liver glycogen and endosulfan toxicity on a catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch.) using 0.00075, 0.00050 and 0.000375 ppm concentrations for 15, 30, 45 and 60 days of exposure periods. The quantity of liver glycogen showed decreasing trend as concentration of toxicant increased. The depletion in glycogen contents is greatly affiliated to cellular damage in hepatic cells.     

Predator choice in the field; grouping guppies, Poecilia reticulata, receive more attacks

Capture success of many predator species has been shown to decrease with increasing prey group size and it is therefore suggested that predators should choose to attack stragglers and/or small groups. Predator choice in the laboratory has shown mixed results with some species preferentially attacking large groups and others preferring to attack stragglers over groups. Such predator choices have not been tested in the field. In our study we presented a binary choice between a shoal of guppies and a single guppy to predators in pools in the Arima river, Trinidad. We observed attacks in 11 different pools from a total of 53 predators (20 acara cichlids, Aequidens pulcher, 32 pike cichlids, Crenicichla frenata, and one wolf-fish, Hoplias malabaricus) and found that all predators showed a strong preference for the shoal of guppies in terms of both first choice and total number of attacks. We discuss the implications of these preferences with regards to predator–prey interactions.