Episodic ice-free arctic ocean in pliocene and pleistocene time: calcareous nannofossil evidence

Today's ice cover (2 to 4 meters thick) over the Arctic Ocean provides a shadow that prevents coccolithophorids (photosynthetic, planktonic algae) from living there. Sparse, low-diversity, but indigenous coccolith assemblages in late Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene (but not Holocene) sediments imply deep penetrating warm currents or an ice-free Arctic Ocean, or both, as those layers were being deposited.     

Zooplankton fecal pellets link fossil fuel and phosphate deposits

Fossil zooplankton fecal pellets found in thinly bedded marine and lacustrine black shales associated with phosphate, oil, and coal deposits, link the deposition of organic matter and biologically associated minerals with planktonic ecosystems. The black shales were probably formed in the anoxic basins of coastal marine waters, inland seas, and rift valley lakes where high productivity was supported by runoff, upwelling, and outwelling.     

Do the tropical freshwater fishes feed on aquatic fungi?

Consumption and processing of allochthonous plant litter by fishes is more common in tropical than temperate streams and rivers. Therefore, aquatic hyphomycetes in water (filtration), leaf litter (bubble chamber incubation), and fecal pellets (direct observation and inoculation to sterile leaf litter) of three dominant fishes belonging to the family Cyprinidae (Aplocheilus lineatus, Puntius filamentosus, and Rasbora daniconius) in two locations of the River Kali of the Western Ghats, India, were evaluated during postmonsoon season. Spores of 14 and 9 species of aquatic hyphomycetes were recovered on filtering water samples of Kaiga stream and Kadra dam with equal number of spores (32 spores · 100 mL⁻¹) and high Shannon diversity in Kaiga stream. In a bubble chamber incubation of leaf litter, 16 and 9 species were recovered from Kaiga stream and Kadra dam with high spore output (1122 versus 324 spores per mg dry mass) and high Shannon diversity in Kaiga stream. Both direct and indirect methods of examination of fecal pellets of fishes revealed more species in Kaiga stream than Kadra dam (4–7 versus 1–4 species). The spore release in leaf litter incubated with fecal pellets ranged from 2.3 to 98 spores·mg⁻¹·d⁻¹ with the highest Aplocheilus lineatus in Kaiga stream; while in Kadra dam, it was from 0.02 to 22.9 spores·mg⁻¹·d⁻¹ with the highest in Puntius filamentosus. The Shannon diversity of aquatic hyphomycetes was high in fecal pellets of Aplocheilus lineatus of Kaiga stream and Rasbora daniconius of Kadra dam. The top-ranked five species of aquatic hyphomycetes differed in water, leaf litter, and fish fecal pellets; however, Triscelophorus konajensis was common for all. All five top-ranked species of aquatic hyphomycetes in feces produced multicelled spores; thus, they were likely to have a better chance of viability through gut passage than single-celled spores. Preferential feeding, fungi in gut and feces, and survival and dissemination of spores by invertebrates and fishes with reference to aquatic hyphomycetes were discussed.     

Copepod fecal pellets as a source of dihydrophytol in marine sediments

Dihydrophytol(3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadecanol) was identified in the nonsaponified lipid fraction of fecal pellets from the copepod Calanus helgolandicus fed in the laboratory on a unialgal diet. Direct deposition in the fecal pellets of certain zooplankton species may explain the presence of dihydrophytol in marine sediments. Microbial reduction of phytol in sediment cores does not account for the origin of this compound in all sedimentary environments.     

Radiolarian skeletons: solution at depths

Radiolarian skeletons were placed at several depths on the taut mooring wire of a buoy in the central Pacific for 4 months. Recent radiolarian sediment dissolved at appreciable rates at depths shallower than 2000 meters; solution was greatest near the surface and decreased with depth. This pattern correlates with bathymetric distributions of dissolved silicon and of temperature. Siliceous Radiolaria from planktonic samples appeared to dissolve about eight times faster than those from sediment. Tripyleans seemed to be less resistant than polycystins. Acantharia dissolved completely at all depths.     

Planktonic Foraminifera: field experiment on production rate

In a study of the rate of production of four species of planktonic Foraminifera in the region of the California Current it was found that their life spans are of the order of 1 month. Reproduction seems to take place mainly in the upper hundred meters. Results are in contrast to previous evidence presented in favor of yearly life cycles and maturing at great depth in other species of planktonic Foraminifera.     

Vertical distribution and isotopic composition of living planktonic foraminifera in the Western north atlantic

Thirteen species of planktonic foraminifera collected with vertically stratified zooplankton tows in the slope water, Gulf Stream cold core ring, and northern Sargasso Sea show significant differences in their vertical distributions in the upper 200 meters of these different hydrographic regimes. Gulf Stream cold core rings may be responsible for a southern displacement of the faunal boundary associated with the Gulf Stream when reconstructed from the deep-sea sediment record. Oxygen isotope analyses of seven species reveal that nonspinose species (algal symbiont-barren) apparently calcify in oxygen isotope equilibrium, whereas spinose species usually calcify out of oxygen isotope equilibrium by approximately -0.3 to -0.4 per mil in delta(18)O values. The isotope data indicate that foraminifera shells calcify in depth zones that are significantly narrower than the overall vertical distribution of a species would imply.     

西江下游浮游植物群落周年变化模式

西江肇庆段是珠江干流汇入珠三角河网水域的咽喉通道,对2009年该江段的浮游植物群落组成及变化进行系统阐析。调查期间共发现浮游植物7门,245种(包括变种、变型),其中硅藻和绿藻是浮游植物群落组成的最主要类群,分别占总种数的42.44%和34.69%,其次是裸藻和蓝藻。PCA分析结果显示,浮游植物各类群的种类丰富度和生物量的周年变化趋势主要受水温和径流量的影响。浮游植物种类丰富度的周年变化呈现明显的高温季节高,低温季节低的特征,除因大多数藻类物种直接喜好高温之外,径流量的增大有助于真浮游绿藻种类的外源注入及半浮游和偶然性浮游硅藻种类的增加。浮游植物生物量的周年变化呈现明显的双峰型,峰值分别出现在8月和11月。然而8月份第1个高峰出现之前,生物量波动不大,尽管水温的升高有助于生物量的增加,但是径流量增大所带来的稀释作用掩盖了水温上升对浮游植物生长的促进作用。真浮游植物生物量的变化趋势和数值与总浮游植物极其接近,主要得益于真浮游硅藻物种颗粒直链藻在总种群中的绝对优势地位。综上,水温升高对浮游植物种类丰富度和生物量的增长均有促进,径流量的增大虽然有助于种类丰富度的增加,但不利于生物量的增加。     

Calcite: rates of dissolution in a vertical profile in the central pacific

Rate of dissoluton of calcium carbonate (calcite) was determined for a vertical profile 5000 mizeters deep in the central Pacific by measuring the loss of weight of optical calcite spheres arrayed on a mooring. Waters of the Pacific are undersaturated in all but the upper several hundred meters. A sharp increase in the rate of dissolution occurs at a depth of about 3700 meters, which corresponds closely to the depth below which calcite hias been dissolved from the sediments.     

中国深海鱼类区系组成的研究

本文根据作者多年的调查研究，对所得栖息水深２００￣１１００ｍ的鱼类３５０种（包括５０余种我国新记录），结合有关文献资料增录１８２种，共整理出中国深海鱼类５３２种，就这些种类对中国深海鱼类的区系组成作出初步的研究，并对这些种类的优势种、地理分布、水深分布作了初步分析。     

西藏达则错盐湖沉积背景与有机沉积结构

以西藏拟溞(Daphniopsis tibetana Sars)为优势浮游动物物种的低盐度盐湖是西藏湖泊的一个重要类型,以达则错为代表,分析了其沉积背景及沉积物组成。结果如下:(1)湖泊敞水区无机沉积以内生化学沉积为主,可代表深水盐湖无机沉积物的自然沉积过程。(2)达则错盐湖浮游植物以蓝藻、硅藻、裸藻、绿藻为主,总生物量11.35 mg/L;浮游动物生物量为4.92 mg/L,其中西藏拟溞占 82.30%;浮游植物残体受盐梯度影响在盐梯度层之上聚集,而浮游动物残体及粪粒(Fecal pellets)因外表有碳酸盐附着可穿过盐梯度层沉积湖底,生物残体与浮游动物代谢产物构成了沉积有机物的物质基础。(3)表层沉积物平均含水量为66.70%,粒径0.004-0.02 mm范围内的颗粒物含量最大,占20.42%,其次为<0.004 mm的粘土,占4.53%。(4)表层沉积物总有机碳(TOC)平均含量为27.99 mg/g(干重),其中颗粒有机碳(POC)约为18.11 mg/g,占TOC的64.70%;在POC中,西藏拟溞粪粒贡献最大,约占POC的60.48%,占TOC的39.06%,占沉积物总量的1.12%,其次为西藏拟溞残体,占POC的38.85%。分析结果表明盐湖因其独特的水化学和生物学特征具有较强的沉积能力,以化学沉积为主的无机沉积及以西藏拟溞粪粒和残肢碎屑为主的有机沉积构成了该类型盐湖颗粒物沉降及沉积的主要过程。     

Wood-boring bivalves, opportunistic species in the deep sea

Wood exposed for 104 days at a depth of 1830 meters at the permanent station of the research submersible D.S.R.V. Alvin was completely riddled by two species of bivalve wood borers (subfamily Xylophagainae, family Pholadidae). Their high reproductive rate, high population density, rapid growth, early maturity, and utilization of a transient habitat classify them as opportunistic species, the first recorded from the deep sea. Xylophaga is shown to be the most important species involved in decomposing woody plant material in the deep sea.     

Species duration and evolution: benthic foraminifera on the atlantic continental margin of north america

Average species durations were estimated for 131 commonly occurring modern species. The duration of species occurring at depths of less than 200 meters is 16 million years, while for those at greater than 200 meters and at all depths it is 25 to 26 million years. Species (less than 200 meters) distributed from Florida to Newfoundland and from Florida to Cape Hatteras have about the same durations (18 to 20 million years). The duration for species restricted to north of Cape Hatteras is only 7 million years. The data suggest that evolutionary rates are greater in shallower than in deeper depths and greatest in the shallower northern area.     

Shell porosity of recent planktonic foraminifera as a climatic index

Despite variations in pore diameter and pore concentration between 22 species of planktonic Foraminifera, shell porosites are relatively uniform for those co-occurring in the same latitudinal belts: over 10 percent for tropicalsubtropical species; 5 to 10 percent for temperate species; and less than 5 percent for subpolar-polar species. Shell porosities of fossil planktonic Foraminifera may be useful indices for interpreting Cenozoic climates.     

Deep-Sea coral evidence for rapid change in ventilation of the deep north atlantic 15,400 years Ago

Coupled radiocarbon and thorium-230 dates from benthic coral species reveal that the ventilation rate of the North Atlantic upper deep water varied greatly during the last deglaciation. Radiocarbon ages in several corals of the same age, 15.41 +/- 0.17 thousand years, and nearly the same depth, 1800 meters, in the western North Atlantic Ocean increased by as much as 670 years during the 30- to 160-year life spans of the samples. Cadmium/calcium ratios in one coral imply that the nutrient content of these deep waters also increased. Our data show that the deep ocean changed on decadal-centennial time scales during rapid changes in the surface ocean and the atmosphere.     

Dipleurozoa from lower silurian of north america

In a problematical fauna discovered in Australia, 152 meters below diagnostic Lower Cambrian species, are fossilized remains belonging in the phylum Coelenterata. These jellyfish-like fossils were defined as a new class(Dipleurozoa) by Harrington and Moore because of their strong bilateral symmetry and differentiated extremities. The class was not reported elsewhere before many specimens were discovered recently in the Shawangunk (Tuscarora) formation at Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. Three new species belonging to a new genus can be recognized, the indication being that the class ranges stratigraphically from the infra-Cambrian to at least the Lower Silurian, and geographically from Australia to eastern North America.     

Marine snow: microplankton habitat and source of small-scale patchiness in pelagic populations

In near-surface waters of the neritic zone, the fragile aggregate material called "marine snow" is enriched by a variety of planktonic organisms and detrital products of plankton. Here marine snow is a source of patchiness and taxonomic diversity for microplankton populations and is a likely food resource and recycling agent for fecal particles.     

丹江口水库不同支流浮游藻类和附石藻类的比较研究

为研究河流生境差异对微型藻类生物多样性的影响,揭示指示藻类在河流生态系统健康评价中的地位,于2010年8月对丹江口水库的典型支流汉江库神定河和丹江库淇河进行了浮游藻和附石藻比较研究。结果显示,在神定河鉴定到浮游藻类7门98属193种(含变种),附石藻类3门36属61种(含变种);淇河浮游藻类为7门82属165种,附石藻类为4门10属48种(含变种)。从采集的样品中共鉴定出污染指示种15属21种(含变种),其中淇河贫营养型指示种(7种)多于神定河(6种),而其富营养指示种均低于神定河。从生物学角度判定淇河水质优于神定河。     

Microstructure of agglomerated suspended sediments in northern chesapeake bay estuary

Suspended sediments in the turbidity maximum of Chesapeake Bay include composite particles which contain platy mineral grains, arranged both in pellets (attributable to fecal pelletization) and in networks of angular configuration (attributable to electrochemical flocculation and coagulation).     

Radioactive waste disposal in thick unsaturated zones

Portions of the Great Basin are undergoing crustal extension and have unsaturated zones as much as 600 meters thick. These areas contain multiple natural barriers capable of isolating solidified toxic wastes from the biosphere for tens of thousands to perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. An example of the potential utilization of such arid zone environments for toxic waste isolatic is the burial of transuranic radioactive wastes at relatively shallow depths (15 to 100 meters) in Sedan Crater, Yucca Flat, Nevada. The volume of this man-made crater is several times that of the projected volume of such wastes to the year 2000. Disposal in Sedan Crater could be accomplished at a savings on the order of $0.5 billion, in comparison with current schemes for burial of such wastes in mined repositories at depths of 600 to 900 meters, and with an apparently equal likelihood of waste isolation from the biosphere.