北部湾冬季的生物固氮作用

2006年12月至2007年1月(冬季)期间,对北部湾海区的生物固氮作用进行了初步研究,结果表明:当培养时间为2 h时,水体浮游生物固氮速率最高,且固氮速率随着培养时间的延长而逐渐降低。北部湾冬季固氮速率存在周日变化,8∶10～11∶10时段内固氮速率达到最高值。10 m和30 m水深在夜间仍能检测到固氮活性,这可能是浮游生物昼夜垂直移动引起的。北部湾冬季固氮速率的范围为447.5～1447.2 pmol/(L.h),固氮速率呈现出从湾内往湾外不断增加的趋势,湾口海区(B06站)的积分固氮速率为319.5μmol/(m2.d)。B06站Fe加富实验表明,添加100 nmol/L Fe能够明显促进生物固氮作用,北部湾冬季湾口海区生物固氮作用可能受到Fe限制。     

Seabirds as Indicators of Changes in Marine Ecosystems: Ecological Monitoring on Machias Seal Island

Changes in marine ecosystems can be manifested in many different ways, on different temporal and spatial scales. Seabirds are top consumers in marine foodwebs and offer opportunities to detect and assess the biological effects of changes in physical parameters (sea-surface temperature [SST], salinity, depth of thermocline etc.) of the marine ecosystem. We compare six-eight years' of data on the biology (diet, and breeding success) of four species of seabird (arctic tern Sterna paradisaeaand common tern S. hirundo, which feed at the sea surface; and Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica and razorbill Alca torda, which dive 30–60 m for their prey) breeding on Machias Seal Island (MSI) in the Bay of Fundy with both our own meteorological and oceanographic measurements, and with standard measurements from conventional sources. These are compared with fisheries data on changes in the main prey of all the seabirds concerned (juvenile or 0-group herring Clupea harengus) which are the most direct link between the seabirds and the physical properties of the marine system. We explore relationships between seabird productivity and diet, and other aspects of both herring biology (larval surveys, and fat content) and oceanography (SST data from the island, and remotely sensed data from the entrance to the Bay of Fundy). Timing of laying by puffins followed SST variation at neither the local (MSI) nor regional scales, but at the scale of the North Atlantic, following the trend of populations breeding off northern Norway. The proportion of herring in the diet of terns over 6 years varied inversely with herring larval abundance the previous fall; this relationship was not statistically significant in the puffin and razorbill. A major new finding is the considerable (50%) inter-annual variation in the energy density (fat content) of juvenile herring that are the main seabird prey; breeding success of both species of tern varied in parallel with the energy density of juvenile herring in the diet until the last two years of the study, when sandlance (Ammodytes sp.) and euphausid shrimp predominated in the diet. Our long-term research approach combines traditional population monitoring (of numbers of breeding birds) with demographic, behavioural and environmental monitoring, to provide new understanding of the marine ecosystem as well as of seabirds.     

Cadmium bioaccumulation in three benthic fish species, Salaria basilisca,Zosterisessor ophiocephalus and Solea vulgaris collected from the Guff of Gabes in Tunisia

To select a marine teleost fish which can be used as a bioindicator of cadmium (Cd) pollution in the Gulf of Gabes in Tunisia, Cd concentrations in liver and gill were compared in three benthic fish species including Salaria basilisca, Zosterisessor ophiocephalus and Solea vulgaris. Fish samples were collected from three selected sites in the Gulf of Gabes, with different degrees of Cd contamination: the industrialized coast of Sfax (S1), the coast of Douar Chart (S2) and the coast of Luza ($3). The results shows that Cd concentrations in both sediment and water collected from S1 were significantly higher (p<0.0001) than those from S2 and $3. For each species, Cd concentrations, in both liver and gill, showed the decreasing order: S1>S2>S3. The highest concentration of Cd was detected in the liver of S. basilisca, and only S. basilisca showed bioaccumulation factors (BAF) greater than 1 in all studied sites. In S1 and S2, BAF values respect the following order: S. basilisca>Z. ophiocephalus>S. vulgaris. These results of significant bioaccumulation of Cd, in terms of hepatic concentrations and bioaccamulation factors, indicated that S. basilisca can be used as bioindicator to evaluate the evolution of Cd pollution in the Gulf of Gahes.     

Heavy Metal Tolerance in Chromogenic and Non-Chromogenic Marine Bacteria from Arabian Gulf

A simple method – direct agar diffusion assay – was optimised for rapid assessment of heavy metal toxicity to marine chromogenic and non-chromogenic bacteria. The procedure involved spotting of a 10 microliter test solution on the seeded agar plate and incubation of the plates at 30°C to accelerate bacterial growth. Under optimum conditions, test results were obtainable within 12–18 hr instead of 96 hr incubation time generally required for a marine bacterial assay by conventional agar plate methods. A range of sixteen heavy metals, each at 5 different concentrations was tested. Toxicity was demonstrated by the formation of a clear zone of growth inhibition around the point of application. Toxicity of tested chemicals could be easily demonstrated at concentrations as low as 0.1 g per spot on the agar plate. A dose dependent relation between metal concentration (g/spot) and the diameter of the clear zone on agar plate was observed, suggesting potential of this method as an easy and economical tool in quantitative toxicology studies.     

Dissolved Oxygen Conditions in Northern Gulf of Mexico Estuaries

Because deficient dissolved oxygen (DO) levels may have severe detrimental effects on estuarine and marine life, DO has been widely used as an indicator of ecological conditions by environmental monitoring programs. The U.S. EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program for Estuaries (EMAP-E) monitored DO conditions in the estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico from 1991 to 1994. DO was measured in two ways: 1) instantaneous profiles from the surface to the bottom were taken during the day, and 2) continuous measurements were taken near the bottom at 15 min intervals for at least 12 h. This information was summarized to assess the spatial distribution and severity of DO conditions in these estuaries. Depending on the criteria used to define hypoxia (DO concentrations usually <2 mg L-1 or <5 mg L-1) and the method by which DO is measured, we estimate that between 5.2 and 29.3% of the total estuarine area in the Louisianian Province was affected by low DO conditions.     

Estimating the Ecological Condition of the Estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico

Monitoring of estuaries in the Louisianian Province was performed annually from 1991–1994 to assess ecological conditions on a regional scale. We found over the four years of monitoring, 25±6% of Gulf of Mexico estuarine sediments in the Louisianian Province displayed poor biological conditions, as measured by benthic community structure, and 14±7% of the area was characterized by poor water clarity, the presence of marine debris, and elevated levels of fish tissue contaminants. Using statistical associations to discern relationships between ecological condition and exposure or stressor data has shown that much of this degraded' condition co-occurs with sediment contamination.     

北部湾沿海地区植被覆盖对气温和降水的旬响应特征

论文分析北部湾沿海地区植被覆盖对气候变化的响应,为该区域植被恢复和植被生产力研究提供依据.基于研究区2000--2011年423景SPOT-VEGETATION逐旬NDVI数据及逐日气温和降水数据,利用像元二分模型,相关分析,偏相关分析和时滞偏相关分析等数理统计方法,对研究区植被覆盖时空变化特征及与旬降水和旬均温的相关性及滞后性进行分析.结果表明:1)近12 a来,北部湾沿海地区植被覆盖度平均值呈增长趋势,由2000年的65.23%增加到2011年的72.02%,增加了6.79%;2)研究区植被生长季旬NDVI均值介于0.21~0.67之间,在不同时期变化是不同的,其值呈现出"降低--增长--降低"3种变化过程;3)各种植被类型与温度具有显著的相关关系,全部通过了0.01的显著性水平,且NDVI与温度的显著性水平高于NDVI与降水的显著性水平,说明北部湾沿海地区植被覆盖NDVI对气象因子中的温度更为敏感;4)NDVI与气温的时滞偏相关系数显著高于NDVI与降水的时滞偏相关系数,旬NDVI与旬降水的滞后时间多集中于6~9旬之间,而旬NDVI与旬气温的滞后时间多以0~5旬为主;5)不同类型植被的生长对气温和降水的响应时间不一致,但与水热条件时滞偏相关系数越高的植被类型响应时间越短.上述研究结果表明,近12 a来北部湾沿海地区植被处于恢复状态,且植被对降水和气温具有明显的阈值和滞后性.