Basin-scale estimates of pelagic and coral reef calcification in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Steiner, Zvi; Erez, Jonathan; Shemesh, Aldo; Yam, Ruth; Katz, Amitai; Lazar, Boaz

2014-11-18

Basin-scale calcification rates are highly important in assessments of the global oceanic carbon cycle. Traditionally, such estimates were based on rates of sedimentation measured with sediment traps or in deep sea cores. Here we estimated CaCO3 precipitation rates in the surface water of the Red Sea from total alkalinity depletion along their axial flow using the water flux in the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The relative contribution of coral reefs and open sea plankton were calculated by fitting a Rayleigh distillation model to the increase in the strontium to calcium ratio. We estimate the net amount of CaCO3 precipitated in the Red Sea to be 7.3 ± 0.4·10(10) kg·y(-1) of which 80 ± 5% is by pelagic calcareous plankton and 20 ± 5% is by the flourishing coastal coral reefs. This estimate for pelagic calcification rate is up to 40% higher than published sedimentary CaCO3 accumulation rates for the region. The calcification rate of the Gulf of Aden was estimated by the Rayleigh model to be ∼1/2 of the Red Sea, and in the northwestern Indian Ocean, it was smaller than our detection limit. The results of this study suggest that variations of major ions on a basin scale may potentially help in assessing long-term effects of ocean acidification on carbonate deposition by marine organisms.

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

KAUST Repository

Keith, Sally A.

2016-05-11

Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

KAUST Repository

Keith, Sally A.; Maynard, Jeffrey A.; Edwards, Alasdair J.; Guest, James R.; Bauman, Andrew G.; van Hooidonk, Ruben; Heron, Scott F.; Berumen, Michael L.; Bouwmeester, Jessica; Piromvaragorn, Srisakul; Rahbek, Carsten; Baird, Andrew H.

2016-01-01

Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science - Vol 11, No 1 (2012)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Using an ecosystem model to evaluate fisheries management options to mitigate climate change impacts in western Indian Ocean coral reefs · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. Carlos Ruiz Sebastián, Tim R. McClanahan, 77-86 ...

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science - Vol 10, No 1 (2011)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessing Spatio-temporal Patterns of Groundwater Salinity in Small Coral Islands in the Western Indian Ocean · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. J-L Join, O Banton, J-C Comte, J Leze, F Massin, E Nicolini, 1-12 ...

Oceanic forcing of coral reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Ryan J; Falter, James L

2015-01-01

Although the oceans play a fundamental role in shaping the distribution and function of coral reefs worldwide, a modern understanding of the complex interactions between ocean and reef processes is still only emerging. These dynamics are especially challenging owing to both the broad range of spatial scales (less than a meter to hundreds of kilometers) and the complex physical and biological feedbacks involved. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of these processes, ranging from the small-scale mechanics of flow around coral communities and their influence on nutrient exchange to larger, reef-scale patterns of wave- and tide-driven circulation and their effects on reef water quality and perceived rates of metabolism. We also examine regional-scale drivers of reefs such as coastal upwelling, internal waves, and extreme disturbances such as cyclones. Our goal is to show how a wide range of ocean-driven processes ultimately shape the growth and metabolism of coral reefs.

Advancing Ocean Monitoring Near Coral Reefs

Science.gov (United States)

Heron, Scott F.; Steinberg, Craig R.; Heron, Mal L.; Mantovanelli, Alessandra; Jaffrés, Jasmine B. D.; Skirving, William J.; McAllister, Felicity; Rigby, Paul; Wisdom, Daniel; Bainbridge, Scott

2010-10-01

Corals, the foundation of tropical marine ecosystems, exist in a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae (algae). The corals obtain much of their energy by consuming compounds derived from photosynthesis by these microorganisms; the microorganisms, which reside in the coral tissue, in turn use waste products from the corals to sustain photosynthesis. This symbiosis is very sensitive to subtle changes in environment, such as increased ocean acidity, temperature, and light. When unduly stressed, the colorful algae are expelled from the corals, causing the corals to “bleach” and potentially die [e.g., van Oppen and Lough, 2009].

Bacteria associated with the coral Echinopora lamellosa (Esper ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2007-12-10

Dec 10, 2007 ... with diseased corals in the Indian Ocean. However ... Indian Ocean, mucus samples were collected from healthy and apparently diseased Echinopora ..... The rising tide of ocean diseases: unsolved problems and research priorities. Front. Ecol. Environ. 2: 375-382. Harvell D, Jordan-Dahlgren E, Merkel S, ...

Fungal invasion of massive corals

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Raghukumar, C.; Raghukumar, S.

Five species of corals from the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal (Indian Ocean) have been regularly found to have single or multiple necrotic patches. The occurrence of such corals with necrotic patches varied from 10-50% in the field. Sections...

Barrier spit recovery following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at Pakarang Cape, southwest Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

Koiwa, Naoto; Takahashi, Mio; Sugisawa, Shuhei; Ito, Akifumi; Matsumoto, Hide-aki; Tanavud, Charlchai; Goto, Kazuhisa

2018-04-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami had notable impacts on coastal landforms. Temporal change in topography by coastal erosion and subsequent formation of a new barrier spit on the nearshore of Pakrang Cape, southeastern Thailand, had been monitored for 10 years since 2005 based on field measurement using satellite images, high-resolution differential GPS, and/or handy GPS. Monitored topography data show that a barrier island was formed offshore from the cape several months after the tsunami event through progradation of multiple elongated gravelly beach ridges and washover fan composed of coral gravels. Subsequently, the barrier spit expanded to the open sea. The progradation and expansion were supported by supply of a large amount of coral debris produced by the tsunami waves. These observations provide useful data to elucidate processes of change in coastal landforms after a tsunami event. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami played an important role in barrier spit evolution over a period of at least a decade.

Reversal of ocean acidification enhances net coral reef calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

Albright, Rebecca; Caldeira, Lilian; Hosfelt, Jessica; Kwiatkowski, Lester; Maclaren, Jana K; Mason, Benjamin M; Nebuchina, Yana; Ninokawa, Aaron; Pongratz, Julia; Ricke, Katharine L; Rivlin, Tanya; Schneider, Kenneth; Sesboüé, Marine; Shamberger, Kathryn; Silverman, Jacob; Wolfe, Kennedy; Zhu, Kai; Caldeira, Ken

2016-03-17

Approximately one-quarter of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year is absorbed by the global oceans, causing measurable declines in surface ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration ([CO3(2-)]), and saturation state of carbonate minerals (Ω). This process, referred to as ocean acidification, represents a major threat to marine ecosystems, in particular marine calcifiers such as oysters, crabs, and corals. Laboratory and field studies have shown that calcification rates of many organisms decrease with declining pH, [CO3(2-)], and Ω. Coral reefs are widely regarded as one of the most vulnerable marine ecosystems to ocean acidification, in part because the very architecture of the ecosystem is reliant on carbonate-secreting organisms. Acidification-induced reductions in calcification are projected to shift coral reefs from a state of net accretion to one of net dissolution this century. While retrospective studies show large-scale declines in coral, and community, calcification over recent decades, determining the contribution of ocean acidification to these changes is difficult, if not impossible, owing to the confounding effects of other environmental factors such as temperature. Here we quantify the net calcification response of a coral reef flat to alkalinity enrichment, and show that, when ocean chemistry is restored closer to pre-industrial conditions, net community calcification increases. In providing results from the first seawater chemistry manipulation experiment of a natural coral reef community, we provide evidence that net community calcification is depressed compared with values expected for pre-industrial conditions, indicating that ocean acidification may already be impairing coral reef growth.

Spatial competition dynamics between reef corals under ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Rael; Hoogenboom, Mia O.; Fine, Maoz

2017-01-01

Climate change, including ocean acidification (OA), represents a major threat to coral-reef ecosystems. Although previous experiments have shown that OA can negatively affect the fitness of reef corals, these have not included the long-term effects of competition for space on coral growth rates. Our multispecies year-long study subjected reef-building corals from the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) to competitive interactions under present-day ocean pH (pH 8.1) and predicted end-of-century ocean pH (pH 7.6). Results showed coral growth is significantly impeded by OA under intraspecific competition for five out of six study species. Reduced growth from OA, however, is negligible when growth is already suppressed in the presence of interspecific competition. Using a spatial competition model, our analysis indicates shifts in the competitive hierarchy and a decrease in overall coral cover under lowered pH. Collectively, our case study demonstrates how modified competitive performance under increasing OA will in all likelihood change the composition, structure and functionality of reef coral communities.

Deep-Sea Corals: A New Oceanic Archive

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Adkins, Jess

1998-01-01

Deep-sea corals are an extraordinary new archive of deep ocean behavior. The species Desmophyllum cristagalli is a solitary coral composed of uranium rich, density banded aragonite that I have calibrated for several paleoclimate tracers...

Coral calcification and ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Jokiel, Paul L.; Jury, Christopher P.; Kuffner, Ilsa B.

2016-01-01

Over 60 years ago, the discovery that light increased calcification in the coral plant-animal symbiosis triggered interest in explaining the phenomenon and understanding the mechanisms involved. Major findings along the way include the observation that carbon fixed by photosynthesis in the zooxanthellae is translocated to animal cells throughout the colony and that corals can therefore live as autotrophs in many situations. Recent research has focused on explaining the observed reduction in calcification rate with increasing ocean acidification (OA). Experiments have shown a direct correlation between declining ocean pH, declining aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), declining [CO32_] and coral calcification. Nearly all previous reports on OA identify Ωarag or its surrogate [CO32] as the factor driving coral calcification. However, the alternate “Proton Flux Hypothesis” stated that coral calcification is controlled by diffusion limitation of net H+ transport through the boundary layer in relation to availability of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The “Two Compartment Proton Flux Model” expanded this explanation and synthesized diverse observations into a universal model that explains many paradoxes of coral metabolism, morphology and plasticity of growth form in addition to observed coral skeletal growth response to OA. It is now clear that irradiance is the main driver of net photosynthesis (Pnet), which in turn drives net calcification (Gnet), and alters pH in the bulk water surrounding the coral. Pnet controls [CO32] and thus Ωarag of the bulk water over the diel cycle. Changes in Ωarag and pH lag behind Gnet throughout the daily cycle by two or more hours. The flux rate Pnet, rather than concentration-based parameters (e.g., Ωarag, [CO3 2], pH and [DIC]:[H+] ratio) is the primary driver of Gnet. Daytime coral metabolism rapidly removes DIC from the bulk seawater. Photosynthesis increases the bulk seawater pH while providing the energy that drives

Indian Ocean and Indian summer monsoon: relationships without ENSO in ocean-atmosphere coupled simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Crétat, Julien; Terray, Pascal; Masson, Sébastien; Sooraj, K. P.; Roxy, Mathew Koll

2017-08-01

The relationship between the Indian Ocean and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and their respective influence over the Indo-Western North Pacific (WNP) region are examined in the absence of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in two partially decoupled global experiments. ENSO is removed by nudging the tropical Pacific simulated sea surface temperature (SST) toward SST climatology from either observations or a fully coupled control run. The control reasonably captures the observed relationships between ENSO, ISM and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Despite weaker amplitude, IODs do exist in the absence of ENSO and are triggered by a boreal spring ocean-atmosphere coupled mode over the South-East Indian Ocean similar to that found in the presence of ENSO. These pure IODs significantly affect the tropical Indian Ocean throughout boreal summer, inducing a significant modulation of both the local Walker and Hadley cells. This meridional circulation is masked in the presence of ENSO. However, these pure IODs do not significantly influence the Indian subcontinent rainfall despite overestimated SST variability in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean compared to observations. On the other hand, they promote a late summer cross-equatorial quadrupole rainfall pattern linking the tropical Indian Ocean with the WNP, inducing important zonal shifts of the Walker circulation despite the absence of ENSO. Surprisingly, the interannual ISM rainfall variability is barely modified and the Indian Ocean does not force the monsoon circulation when ENSO is removed. On the contrary, the monsoon circulation significantly forces the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal SSTs, while its connection with the western tropical Indian Ocean is clearly driven by ENSO in our numerical framework. Convection and diabatic heating associated with above-normal ISM induce a strong response over the WNP, even in the absence of ENSO, favoring moisture convergence over India.

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas A J Graham

Full Text Available Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Nicholas A J; McClanahan, Tim R; MacNeil, M Aaron; Wilson, Shaun K; Polunin, Nicholas V C; Jennings, Simon; Chabanet, Pascale; Clark, Susan; Spalding, Mark D; Letourneur, Yves; Bigot, Lionel; Galzin, René; Ohman, Marcus C; Garpe, Kajsa C; Edwards, Alasdair J; Sheppard, Charles R C

2008-08-27

Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.

Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer, Shower head chamber equilibrator for autonomous carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement and other instruments from TAISEI MARU in the Coral Sea, Indian Ocean and others from 1993-01-25 to 1998-03-07 (NODC Accession 0080992)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0080992 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from TAISEI MARU in the Coral Sea, Indian Ocean, Inland Sea...

Calibration of Community-based Coral Reef Monitoring Protocols ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Coral reef monitoring (CRM) has been recognised as an important management tool and has consequently been incorporated in Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) programmes in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Community-based coral reef monitoring (CB-CRM), which uses simplified procedures suitable for ...

Coral Reefs and Their Management in Tanzania | Wagner | Western ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

management approaches and strategies implemented by various ICM programs, conservation areas and marine parks in Tanzania. It also provides recommendations for further research and coral reef management strategies. Keywords: coral reefs, threats, management, recent initiatives, Tanzania West Indian Ocean ...

Role of coral reefs in global ocean production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crossland, C J; Hatcher, B G; Smith, S V [CSIRO Institute of Natural Resources and Environment, Dickson, ACT (Australia)

1991-01-01

Coral reefs cover some 600 thousand square kilometres of the earth's surface (0.17% of the ocean surface). First order estimates show coral reefs to contribute about 0.05% of the estimated net CO{sub 2} fixation rate of the global oceans. Gross CO{sub 2} fixation is relatively high (of the order 700 x 10{sup 12}g C year{sup -1}), but most of this material is recycled within the reefs. Excess (net) production of organic material (E) is much smaller, of the order 20 x 10{sup 12}g C year{sup -1}. 75% of E is available for export from coral reefs to adjacent areas. Comparison of estimates for net production by reefs and their surrounding oceans indicates that the excess production by coral reefs is similar to new production in the photic zone of oligotrophic oceans. Consequently, estimates for global ocean production should as a first approximation include reefal areas with the surrounding ocean when assigning average net production rates. It can be concluded that organic production by reefs plays a relatively minor role in the global scale of fluxes and storage of elements. In comparison, the companion process of biologically-mediated inorganic carbon precipitation represents a major role for reefs. While reef production does respond on local scales to variation in ocean climate, neither the absolute rates nor the amount accumulated into organic pools appear to be either sensitive indicators or accurate recorders of climatic change in most reef systems. Similarly, the productivity of most reefs should be little affected by currently predicted environmental changes resulting from the greenhouse effect. 86 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from underway - surface observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer, Shower head chamber equilibrator for autonomous carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement and other instruments from the SOUTHERN SURVEYOR in the Coral Sea, Indian Ocean and others from 2012-04-11 to 2012-07-25 (NODC Accession 0115295)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115295 includes chemical, meteorological, physical and underway - surface data collected from SOUTHERN SURVEYOR in the Coral Sea, Indian Ocean, South...

Ocean acidification causes structural deformities in juvenile coral skeletons.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Taryn; Falter, James L; McCulloch, Malcolm T; Clode, Peta L

2016-02-01

Rising atmospheric CO2 is causing the oceans to both warm and acidify, which could reduce the calcification rates of corals globally. Successful coral recruitment and high rates of juvenile calcification are critical to the replenishment and ultimate viability of coral reef ecosystems. Although elevated Pco2 (partial pressure of CO2) has been shown to reduce the skeletal weight of coral recruits, the structural changes caused by acidification during initial skeletal deposition are unknown. We show, using high-resolution three-dimensional x-ray microscopy, that ocean acidification (Pco2 ~900 μatm, pH ~7.7) not only causes reduced overall mineral deposition but also a deformed and porous skeletal structure in newly settled coral recruits. In contrast, elevated temperature (+3°C) had little effect on skeletal formation except to partially mitigate the effects of elevated Pco2. The striking structural deformities we observed show that new recruits are at significant risk, being unable to effectively build their skeletons in the Pco2 conditions predicted to occur for open ocean surface waters under a "business-as-usual" emissions scenario [RCP (representative concentration pathway) 8.5] by the year 2100.

Indian Ocean Rim Cooperation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wippel, Steffen

Since the mid-1990s, the Indian Ocean has been experiencing increasing economic cooperation among its rim states. Middle Eastern countries, too, participate in the work of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, which received new impetus in the course of the current decade. Notably Oman is a very active...

Effects of ocean acidification on the dissolution rates of reef-coral skeletons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert van Woesik

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Ocean acidification threatens the foundation of tropical coral reefs. This study investigated three aspects of ocean acidification: (i the rates at which perforate and imperforate coral-colony skeletons passively dissolve when pH is 7.8, which is predicted to occur globally by 2100, (ii the rates of passive dissolution of corals with respect to coral-colony surface areas, and (iii the comparative rates of a vertical reef-growth model, incorporating passive dissolution rates, and predicted sea-level rise. By 2100, when the ocean pH is expected to be 7.8, perforate Montipora coral skeletons will lose on average 15 kg CaCO3 m−2 y−1, which is approximately −10.5 mm of vertical reduction of reef framework per year. This rate of passive dissolution is higher than the average rate of reef growth over the last several millennia and suggests that reefs composed of perforate Montipora coral skeletons will have trouble keeping up with sea-level rise under ocean acidification. Reefs composed of primarily imperforate coral skeletons will not likely dissolve as rapidly, but our model shows they will also have trouble keeping up with sea-level rise by 2050.

Coral calcifying fluid pH dictates response to ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Holcomb, M; Venn, A A; Tambutté, E; Tambutté, S; Allemand, D; Trotter, J; McCulloch, M

2014-06-06

Ocean acidification driven by rising levels of CO2 impairs calcification, threatening coral reef growth. Predicting how corals respond to CO2 requires a better understanding of how calcification is controlled. Here we show how spatial variations in the pH of the internal calcifying fluid (pHcf) in coral (Stylophora pistillata) colonies correlates with differential sensitivity of calcification to acidification. Coral apexes had the highest pHcf and experienced the smallest changes in pHcf in response to acidification. Lateral growth was associated with lower pHcf and greater changes with acidification. Calcification showed a pattern similar to pHcf, with lateral growth being more strongly affected by acidification than apical. Regulation of pHcf is therefore spatially variable within a coral and critical to determining the sensitivity of calcification to ocean acidification.

Swell Propagation over Indian Ocean Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suchandra A. Bhowmick

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Swells are the ocean surface gravity waves that have propagated out of their generating fetch to the distant coasts without significant attenuation. Therefore they contain a clear signature of the nature and intensity of wind at the generation location. This makes them a precursor to various atmospheric phenomena like distant storms, tropical cyclones, or even large scale sea breeze like monsoon. Since they are not affected by wind once they propagate out of their generating region, they cannot be described by regional wave models forced by local winds. However, their prediction is important, in particular, for ship routing and off shore structure designing. In the present work, the propagation of swell waves from the Southern Ocean and southern Indian Ocean to the central and northern Indian Ocean has been studied. For this purpose a spectral ocean Wave Model (WAM has been used to simulate significant wave height for 13 years from 1993–2005 using NCEP blended winds at a horizontal spatial resolution of 1° × 1°. It has been observed that Indian Ocean, with average wave height of approximately 2–3 m during July, is mostly dominated by swell waves generated predominantly under the extreme windy conditions prevailing over the Southern Ocean and southern Indian Ocean. In fact the swell waves reaching the Indian Ocean in early or mid May carry unique signatures of monsoon arriving over the Indian Subcontinent. Pre-monsoon month of April contains low swell waves ranging from 0.5–1 m. The amplitudes subsequently increase to approximately 1.5–2 meters around 7–15 days prior to the arrival of monsoon over the Indian Subcontinent. This embedded signature may be utilized as one of the important oceanographic precursor to the monsoon onset over the Indian Ocean.

Red coral extinction risk enhanced by ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerrano, Carlo; Cardini, Ulisse; Bianchelli, Silvia; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Pusceddu, Antonio; Danovaro, Roberto

2013-01-01

The red coral Corallium rubrum is a habitat-forming species with a prominent and structural role in mesophotic habitats, which sustains biodiversity hotspots. This precious coral is threatened by both over-exploitation and temperature driven mass mortality events. We report here that biocalcification, growth rates and polyps' (feeding) activity of Corallium rubrum are significantly reduced at pCO2 scenarios predicted for the end of this century (0.2 pH decrease). Since C. rubrum is a long-living species (>200 years), our results suggest that ocean acidification predicted for 2100 will significantly increases the risk of extinction of present populations. Given the functional role of these corals in the mesophotic zone, we predict that ocean acidification might have cascading effects on the functioning of these habitats worldwide.

Ocean Warming Slows Coral Growth in the Central Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Cantin, N. E.; Cohen, A. L.; Karnauskas, K. B.; Tarrant, A. M.; McCorkle, D. C.

2010-01-01

Sea surface temperature (SST) across much of the tropics has increased by 0.4° to 1°C since the mid-1970s. A parallel increase in the frequency and extent of coral bleaching and mortality has fueled concern that climate change poses a major threat to the survival of coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Here we show that steadily rising SSTs, not ocean acidification, are already driving dramatic changes in the growth of an important reef-building coral in the central Red Sea. Three-dimensional computed tomography analyses of the massive coral Diploastrea heliopora reveal that skeletal growth of apparently healthy colonies has declined by 30% since 1998. The same corals responded to a short-lived warm event in 1941/1942, but recovered within 3 years as the ocean cooled. Combining our data with climate model simulations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we predict that should the current warming trend continue, this coral could cease growing altogether by 2070.

Ocean Warming Slows Coral Growth in the Central Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Cantin, N. E.

2010-07-15

Sea surface temperature (SST) across much of the tropics has increased by 0.4° to 1°C since the mid-1970s. A parallel increase in the frequency and extent of coral bleaching and mortality has fueled concern that climate change poses a major threat to the survival of coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Here we show that steadily rising SSTs, not ocean acidification, are already driving dramatic changes in the growth of an important reef-building coral in the central Red Sea. Three-dimensional computed tomography analyses of the massive coral Diploastrea heliopora reveal that skeletal growth of apparently healthy colonies has declined by 30% since 1998. The same corals responded to a short-lived warm event in 1941/1942, but recovered within 3 years as the ocean cooled. Combining our data with climate model simulations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we predict that should the current warming trend continue, this coral could cease growing altogether by 2070.

The Indian Ocean as a Connector

Science.gov (United States)

Durgadoo, J. V.; Biastoch, A.; Boning, C. W.

2016-02-01

The Indian Ocean is a conduit for the upper ocean flow of the global thermohaline circulation. It receives water from the Pacific Ocean through the Indonesian throughflow and the Tasman leakage, and exports water into the Atlantic by means of Agulhas leakage. A small contribution from the northern Indian Ocean is also detectable within Agulhas leakage. Changes on different timescales in the various components of the Pacific inflows and the Atlantic outflow have been reported. Little is known on the role of the Indian Ocean circulation in communicating changes from the Pacific into the Atlantic, let alone any eventual alterations in response to climate change. The precise routes and timescales of Indonesian throughflow, Tasman leakage, Red Sea and Persian Gulf Waters towards the Atlantic are examined in a Lagrangian framework within a high-resolution global ocean model. In this presentation, the following questions are addressed: How are Pacific waters modified in the Indian Ocean before reaching the Agulhas system? On what timescale is water that enters the Indian Ocean from the Pacific flushed out? How important are detours in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea?

Reefs and islands of the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean: why it is the world’s largest no-take marine protected area

Science.gov (United States)

SHEPPARD, C. R. C.; ATEWEBERHAN, M.; BOWEN, B. W.; CARR, P.; CHEN, C. A.; CLUBBE, C.; CRAIG, M. T.; EBINGHAUS, R.; EBLE, J.; FITZSIMMONS, N.; GAITHER, M. R.; GAN, C-H.; GOLLOCK, M.; GUZMAN, N.; GRAHAM, N. A. J.; HARRIS, A.; JONES, R.; KESHAVMURTHY, S.; KOLDEWEY, H.; LUNDIN, C. G.; MORTIMER, J. A.; OBURA, D.; PFEIFFER, M.; PRICE, A. R. G.; PURKIS, S.; RAINES, P.; READMAN, J. W.; RIEGL, B.; ROGERS, A.; SCHLEYER, M.; SEAWARD, M. R. D; SHEPPARD, A. L. S.; TAMELANDER, J.; TURNER, J. R.; VISRAM, S.; VOGLER, C.; VOGT, S.; WOLSCHKE, H.; YANG, J. M-C.; YANG, S-Y.; YESSON, C.

2014-01-01

The Chagos Archipelago was designated a no-take marine protected area (MPA) in 2010; it covers 550 000 km2, with more than 60 000 km2 shallow limestone platform and reefs. This has doubled the global cover of such MPAs.It contains 25–50% of the Indian Ocean reef area remaining in excellent condition, as well as the world’s largest contiguous undamaged reef area. It has suffered from warming episodes, but after the most severe mortality event of 1998, coral cover was restored after 10 years.Coral reef fishes are orders of magnitude more abundant than in other Indian Ocean locations, regardless of whether the latter are fished or protected.Coral diseases are extremely low, and no invasive marine species are known.Genetically, Chagos marine species are part of the Western Indian Ocean, and Chagos serves as a ‘stepping-stone’ in the ocean.The no-take MPA extends to the 200 nm boundary, and. includes 86 unfished seamounts and 243 deep knolls as well as encompassing important pelagic species.On the larger islands, native plants, coconut crabs, bird and turtle colonies were largely destroyed in plantation times, but several smaller islands are in relatively undamaged state.There are now 10 ‘important bird areas’, coconut crab density is high and numbers of green and hawksbill turtles are recovering.Diego Garcia atoll contains a military facility; this atoll contains one Ramsar site and several ‘strict nature reserves’. Pollutant monitoring shows it to be the least polluted inhabited atoll in the world. Today, strict environmental regulations are enforced.Shoreline erosion is significant in many places. Its economic cost in the inhabited part of Diego Garcia is very high, but all islands are vulnerable.Chagos is ideally situated for several monitoring programmes, and use is increasingly being made of the archipelago for this purpose. PMID:25505830

Disease and stress-induced mortality of corals in Indian reefs and observations on bleaching of corals in the Andamans

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ravindran, J.; Raghukumar, C.; Raghukumar, S.

A study was carried out in the Lakshadweep and Andaman islands and the Gulf of Kutch to assess the health of corals in Indian reefs. Disease, predation and stress were the major factors of coral mortality. Death caused by diseases - the black band...

Cocos (Keeling) corals reveal 200 years of multidecadal modulation of southeast Indian Ocean hydrology by Indonesian throughflow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hennekam, R.; Zinke, J.; van Sebille, E.; ten Have, M.; Brummer, G.-J. A.; Reichart, G.-J.

2018-01-01

The only low latitude pathway of heat and salt from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean,known as Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), has been suggested to modulate Global Mean SurfaceTemperature (GMST) warming through redistribution of surface Pacific Ocean heat. ITF observations are onlyavailable since

Oceanic Precondition and Evolution of the Indian Ocean Dipole Events

Science.gov (United States)

Horii, T.; Masumoto, Y.; Ueki, I.; Hase, H.; Mizuno, K.

2008-12-01

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is one of the interannual climate variability in the Indian Ocean, associated with the negative (positive) SST anomaly in the eastern (western) equatorial region developing during boreal summer/autumn seasons. Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has been deploying TRITON buoys in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean since October 2001. Details of subsurface ocean conditions associated with IOD events were observed by the mooring buoys in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean in 2006, 2007, and 2008. In the 2006 IOD event, large-scale sea surface signals in the tropical Indian Ocean associated with the positive IOD started in August 2006, and the anomalous conditions continued until December 2006. Data from the mooring buoys, however, captured the first appearance of the negative temperature anomaly at the thermocline depth with strong westward current anomalies in May 2006, about three months earlier than the development of the surface signatures. Similar appearance of negative temperature anomalies in the subsurface were also observed in 2007 and 2008, while the amplitude, the timing, and the relation to the surface layer were different among the events. The implications of the subsurface conditions for the occurrences of these IOD events are discussed.

The coral triangle initiative: What are we missing? A case study from Aceh

KAUST Repository

Rudi, Edi

2012-10-01

Abstract The Coral Triangle Initiative is an ambitious attempt to conserve the marine biodiversity hotspot known as the Coral Triangle. However, the reef fauna in many nearby regions remains poorly explored and, consequently, the focus on the Coral Triangle risks overlooking other areas of high conservation significance. One region of potential significance, Aceh, Indonesia, has not been visited by coral taxonomists since the Dutch colonial period. Here we document the species richness of scleractinian corals of Pulau Weh, Aceh. We also compare the species richness of the genus Acropora at 3-5 sites in each of nine regions in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Although dominated by widespread Indo-Pacific species, the coral fauna of Pulau Weh is also the eastern and western boundary for many Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean species, respectively. We identified a total of 133 scleractinian species, of which three have been previously recorded only in the western Indian Ocean and five are presently undescribed. The mean species richness of the Acropora at Pulau Weh is similar to regions within the Coral Triangle. This high species richness plus the high proportion of endemics suggests that the Andaman Sea is of similarly high conservation value to the Coral Triangle. We suggest that an international initiative similar to the Coral Triangle Initiative is required to conserve this region, which includes the territorial waters of six countries. © 2012 Fauna & Flora International.

Coral Carbonic Anhydrases: Regulation by Ocean Acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoccola, Didier; Innocenti, Alessio; Bertucci, Anthony; Tambutté, Eric; Supuran, Claudiu T; Tambutté, Sylvie

2016-06-03

Global change is a major threat to the oceans, as it implies temperature increase and acidification. Ocean acidification (OA) involving decreasing pH and changes in seawater carbonate chemistry challenges the capacity of corals to form their skeletons. Despite the large number of studies that have investigated how rates of calcification respond to ocean acidification scenarios, comparatively few studies tackle how ocean acidification impacts the physiological mechanisms that drive calcification itself. The aim of our paper was to determine how the carbonic anhydrases, which play a major role in calcification, are potentially regulated by ocean acidification. For this we measured the effect of pH on enzyme activity of two carbonic anhydrase isoforms that have been previously characterized in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. In addition we looked at gene expression of these enzymes in vivo. For both isoforms, our results show (1) a change in gene expression under OA (2) an effect of OA and temperature on carbonic anhydrase activity. We suggest that temperature increase could counterbalance the effect of OA on enzyme activity. Finally we point out that caution must, thus, be taken when interpreting transcriptomic data on carbonic anhydrases in ocean acidification and temperature stress experiments, as the effect of these stressors on the physiological function of CA will depend both on gene expression and enzyme activity.

Coral Carbonic Anhydrases: Regulation by Ocean Acidification

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Didier Zoccola

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Global change is a major threat to the oceans, as it implies temperature increase and acidification. Ocean acidification (OA involving decreasing pH and changes in seawater carbonate chemistry challenges the capacity of corals to form their skeletons. Despite the large number of studies that have investigated how rates of calcification respond to ocean acidification scenarios, comparatively few studies tackle how ocean acidification impacts the physiological mechanisms that drive calcification itself. The aim of our paper was to determine how the carbonic anhydrases, which play a major role in calcification, are potentially regulated by ocean acidification. For this we measured the effect of pH on enzyme activity of two carbonic anhydrase isoforms that have been previously characterized in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. In addition we looked at gene expression of these enzymes in vivo. For both isoforms, our results show (1 a change in gene expression under OA (2 an effect of OA and temperature on carbonic anhydrase activity. We suggest that temperature increase could counterbalance the effect of OA on enzyme activity. Finally we point out that caution must, thus, be taken when interpreting transcriptomic data on carbonic anhydrases in ocean acidification and temperature stress experiments, as the effect of these stressors on the physiological function of CA will depend both on gene expression and enzyme activity.

Modelling coral polyp calcification in relation to ocean acidification

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S. Hohn

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations due to anthropogenic emissions induce changes in the carbonate chemistry of the oceans and, ultimately, a drop in ocean pH. This acidification process can harm calcifying organisms like coccolithophores, molluscs, echinoderms, and corals. It is expected that ocean acidification in combination with other anthropogenic stressors will cause a severe decline in coral abundance by the end of this century, with associated disastrous effects on reef ecosystems. Despite the growing importance of the topic, little progress has been made with respect to modelling the impact of acidification on coral calcification. Here we present a model for a coral polyp that simulates the carbonate system in four different compartments: the seawater, the polyp tissue, the coelenteron, and the calcifying fluid. Precipitation of calcium carbonate takes place in the metabolically controlled calcifying fluid beneath the polyp tissue. The model is adjusted to a state of activity as observed by direct microsensor measurements in the calcifying fluid. We find that a transport mechanism for bicarbonate is required to supplement carbon into the calcifying fluid because CO₂ diffusion alone is not sufficient to sustain the observed calcification rates. Simulated CO₂ perturbation experiments reveal decreasing calcification rates under elevated pCO₂ despite the strong metabolic control of the calcifying fluid. Diffusion of CO₂ through the tissue into the calcifying fluid increases with increasing seawater pCO₂, leading to decreased aragonite saturation in the calcifying fluid. Our modelling study provides important insights into the complexity of the calcification process at the organism level and helps to quantify the effect of ocean acidification on corals.

Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture

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John E. N. Veron

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This article summarises the sometimes controversial contributions made by the different sciences to predict the path of ocean acidification impacts on the diversity of coral reefs during the present century. Although the seawater carbonate system has been known for a long time, the understanding of acidification impacts on marine biota is in its infancy. Most publications about ocean acidification are less than a decade old and over half are about coral reefs. Contributions from physiological studies, particularly of coral calcification, have covered such a wide spectrum of variables that no cohesive picture of the mechanisms involved has yet emerged. To date, these studies show that coral calcification varies with carbonate ion availability which, in turn controls aragonite saturation. They also reveal synergies between acidification and the better understood role of elevated temperature. Ecological studies are unlikely to reveal much detail except for the observations of the effects of carbon dioxide springs in reefs. Although ocean acidification events are not well constrained in the geological record, recent studies show that they are clearly linked to extinction events including four of the five greatest crises in the history of coral reefs. However, as ocean acidification is now occurring faster than at any know time in the past, future predictions based on past events are in unchartered waters. Pooled evidence to date indicates that ocean acidification will be severely affecting reefs by mid century and will have reduced them to ecologically collapsed carbonate platforms by the century’s end. This review concludes that most impacts will be synergistic and that the primary outcome will be a progressive reduction of species diversity correlated with habitat loss and widespread extinctions in most metazoan phyla.

Investigating the Indian Ocean Geoid Low

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, A.; Gollapalli, T.; Steinberger, B. M.

2016-12-01

The lowest geoid anomaly on Earth lies in the Indian Ocean just south of the Indian peninsula.Several theories have been proposed to explain this geoid low, most of which invoke past subduction. Some recent studies have alsoargued that high velocity anomalies in the lower mantle coupled with low velocity anomalies in the upper mantle are responsible for these negative geoidanomalies. However, there is no general consensus regarding the source of the Indian Ocean negative geoid. We investigate the source of this geoid low by using forward models of density driven mantle convection using CitcomS. We test various tomography models in our flow calculations with different radial and lateral viscosity variations. Many tomography modelsproduce a fairly high correlation to the global geoid, however none could match the precise location of the geoid low in the Indian Ocean. Amerged P-wave model of LLNL-G3DV3 in the Indian Ocean region and S40rts elsewhere yields a good fit to the geoid anomaly, both in pattern and magnitude.The source of this geoid low seems to stem from a low velocity anomaly stretching from a depth of 300 km up to 700 km in the northern Indian Ocean region.This velocity anomaly could potentially arise from material rising along the edge of the African LLSVP and moving towards the northeast, facilitated by the movementof the Indian plate in the same direction.

Ocean warming and acidification synergistically increase coral mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Prada, F.; Caroselli, E.; Mengoli, S.; Brizi, L.; Fantazzini, P.; Capaccioni, B.; Pasquini, L.; Fabricius, K. E.; Dubinsky, Z.; Falini, G.; Goffredo, S.

2017-01-01

Organisms that accumulate calcium carbonate structures are particularly vulnerable to ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA), potentially reducing the socioeconomic benefits of ecosystems reliant on these taxa. Since rising atmospheric CO2 is responsible for global warming and increasing ocean acidity, to correctly predict how OW and OA will affect marine organisms, their possible interactive effects must be assessed. Here we investigate, in the field, the combined temperature (range: 16-26 °C) and acidification (range: pHTS 8.1-7.4) effects on mortality and growth of Mediterranean coral species transplanted, in different seasonal periods, along a natural pH gradient generated by a CO2 vent. We show a synergistic adverse effect on mortality rates (up to 60%), for solitary and colonial, symbiotic and asymbiotic corals, suggesting that high seawater temperatures may have increased their metabolic rates which, in conjunction with decreasing pH, could have led to rapid deterioration of cellular processes and performance. The net calcification rate of the symbiotic species was not affected by decreasing pH, regardless of temperature, while in the two asymbiotic species it was negatively affected by increasing acidification and temperature, suggesting that symbiotic corals may be more tolerant to increasing warming and acidifying conditions compared to asymbiotic ones.

Coral bleaching under unconventional scenarios of climate warming and ocean acidification

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Kwiatkowski, Lester; Cox, Peter; Halloran, Paul R.; Mumby, Peter J.; Wiltshire, Andy J.

2015-08-01

Elevated sea surface temperatures have been shown to cause mass coral bleaching. Widespread bleaching, affecting >90% of global coral reefs and causing coral degradation, has been projected to occur by 2050 under all climate forcing pathways adopted by the IPCC for use within the Fifth Assessment Report. These pathways include an extremely ambitious pathway aimed to limit global mean temperature rise to 2 °C (ref. ; Representative Concentration Pathway 2.6--RCP2.6), which assumes full participation in emissions reductions by all countries, and even the possibility of negative emissions. The conclusions drawn from this body of work, which applied widely used algorithms to estimate coral bleaching, are that we must either accept that the loss of a large percentage of the world’s coral reefs is inevitable, or consider technological solutions to buy those reefs time until atmospheric CO2 concentrations can be reduced. Here we analyse the potential for geoengineering, through stratospheric aerosol-based solar radiation management (SRM), to reduce the extent of global coral bleaching relative to ambitious climate mitigation. Exploring the common criticism of geoengineering--that ocean acidification and its impacts will continue unabated--we focus on the sensitivity of results to the aragonite saturation state dependence of bleaching. We do not, however, address the additional detrimental impacts of ocean acidification on processes such as coral calcification that will further determine the benefit to corals of any SRM-based scenario. Despite the sensitivity of thermal bleaching thresholds to ocean acidification being uncertain, stabilizing radiative forcing at 2020 levels through SRM reduces the risk of global bleaching relative to RCP2.6 under all acidification-bleaching relationships analysed.

Deciphering Detailed Plate Kinematics of the Indian Ocean: A Combined Indian-Australian-French Initiative

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Vadakkeyakath, Y.; Müller, R.; Dyment, J.; Bhattacharya, G.; Lister, G. S.; Kattoju, K. R.; Whittaker, J.; Shuhail, M.; Gibbons, A.; Jacob, J.; White, L. T.; Bissessur, P. D.; Kiranmai, S.

2012-12-01

The Indian Ocean formed as a result of the fragmentation and dispersal of East Gondwanaland since the Jurassic. The deep ocean basins in the Indian Ocean contain the imprints of this plate tectonic history, which is related with several major events such as the Kerguelen, Marion and Reunion hotspot inception and the Indo-Eurasian collision. A broad model for evolution of the Indian Ocean was proposed in the early 1980s. Subsequently, French scientists collected a large amount of magnetic data from the western and southern parts of the Indian Ocean while Indian and Australian scientists collected considerable volumes of magnetic data from the regions of Indian Ocean around their mainlands. Using these data, the Indian, French and Australian researchers independently carried out investigations over different parts of the Indian Ocean and provided improved models of plate kinematics at different sectoral plate boundaries. Under two Indo-French collaborative projects, detailed magnetic investigations were carried out in the Northwestern and Central Indian Ocean by combining the available magnetic data from conjugate regions. Those projects were complemented by additional area-specific studies in the Mascarene, Wharton, Laxmi and Gop basins, which are characterized by extinct spreading regimes. These Indo-French projects provided high resolution and improved plate tectonic models for the evolution of the conjugate Arabian and Eastern Somali basins that constrain the relative motion between the Indian-African (now Indian-Somalian) plate boundaries, and the conjugate Central Indian, Crozet and Madagascar basins that mainly constrain the relative motions of Indian-African (now Capricorn-Somalian) and Indian-Antarctic (now Capricorn-Antarctic) plate boundaries. During the same period, Australian scientists carried out investigations in the southeastern part of the Indian Ocean and provided an improved understanding of the plate tectonic evolution of the Indian

Coral physiology and microbiome dynamics under combined warming and ocean acidification.

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Andréa G Grottoli

Full Text Available Rising seawater temperature and ocean acidification threaten the survival of coral reefs. The relationship between coral physiology and its microbiome may reveal why some corals are more resilient to these global change conditions. Here, we conducted the first experiment to simultaneously investigate changes in the coral microbiome and coral physiology in response to the dual stress of elevated seawater temperature and ocean acidification expected by the end of this century. Two species of corals, Acropora millepora containing the thermally sensitive endosymbiont C21a and Turbinaria reniformis containing the thermally tolerant endosymbiont Symbiodinium trenchi, were exposed to control (26.5°C and pCO2 of 364 μatm and treatment (29.0°C and pCO2 of 750 μatm conditions for 24 days, after which we measured the microbial community composition. These microbial findings were interpreted within the context of previously published physiological measurements from the exact same corals in this study (calcification, organic carbon flux, ratio of photosynthesis to respiration, photosystem II maximal efficiency, total lipids, soluble animal protein, soluble animal carbohydrates, soluble algal protein, soluble algal carbohydrate, biomass, endosymbiotic algal density, and chlorophyll a. Overall, dually stressed A. millepora had reduced microbial diversity, experienced large changes in microbial community composition, and experienced dramatic physiological declines in calcification, photosystem II maximal efficiency, and algal carbohydrates. In contrast, the dually stressed coral T. reniformis experienced a stable and more diverse microbiome community with minimal physiological decline, coupled with very high total energy reserves and particulate organic carbon release rates. Thus, the microbiome changed and microbial diversity decreased in the physiologically sensitive coral with the thermally sensitive endosymbiotic algae but not in the physiologically

Coral physiology and microbiome dynamics under combined warming and ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Grottoli, Andréa G; Dalcin Martins, Paula; Wilkins, Michael J; Johnston, Michael D; Warner, Mark E; Cai, Wei-Jun; Melman, Todd F; Hoadley, Kenneth D; Pettay, D Tye; Levas, Stephen; Schoepf, Verena

2018-01-01

Rising seawater temperature and ocean acidification threaten the survival of coral reefs. The relationship between coral physiology and its microbiome may reveal why some corals are more resilient to these global change conditions. Here, we conducted the first experiment to simultaneously investigate changes in the coral microbiome and coral physiology in response to the dual stress of elevated seawater temperature and ocean acidification expected by the end of this century. Two species of corals, Acropora millepora containing the thermally sensitive endosymbiont C21a and Turbinaria reniformis containing the thermally tolerant endosymbiont Symbiodinium trenchi, were exposed to control (26.5°C and pCO2 of 364 μatm) and treatment (29.0°C and pCO2 of 750 μatm) conditions for 24 days, after which we measured the microbial community composition. These microbial findings were interpreted within the context of previously published physiological measurements from the exact same corals in this study (calcification, organic carbon flux, ratio of photosynthesis to respiration, photosystem II maximal efficiency, total lipids, soluble animal protein, soluble animal carbohydrates, soluble algal protein, soluble algal carbohydrate, biomass, endosymbiotic algal density, and chlorophyll a). Overall, dually stressed A. millepora had reduced microbial diversity, experienced large changes in microbial community composition, and experienced dramatic physiological declines in calcification, photosystem II maximal efficiency, and algal carbohydrates. In contrast, the dually stressed coral T. reniformis experienced a stable and more diverse microbiome community with minimal physiological decline, coupled with very high total energy reserves and particulate organic carbon release rates. Thus, the microbiome changed and microbial diversity decreased in the physiologically sensitive coral with the thermally sensitive endosymbiotic algae but not in the physiologically tolerant coral with

Coral Reef Ecosystems under Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

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Ove Hoegh-Guldberg

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Coral reefs are found in a wide range of environments, where they provide food and habitat to a large range of organisms as well as providing many other ecological goods and services. Warm-water coral reefs, for example, occupy shallow sunlit, warm, and alkaline waters in order to grow and calcify at the high rates necessary to build and maintain their calcium carbonate structures. At deeper locations (40–150 m, “mesophotic” (low light coral reefs accumulate calcium carbonate at much lower rates (if at all in some cases yet remain important as habitat for a wide range of organisms, including those important for fisheries. Finally, even deeper, down to 2,000 m or more, the so-called “cold-water” coral reefs are found in the dark depths. Despite their importance, coral reefs are facing significant challenges from human activities including pollution, over-harvesting, physical destruction, and climate change. In the latter case, even lower greenhouse gas emission scenarios (such as Representative Concentration Pathway RCP 4.5 are likely drive the elimination of most warm-water coral reefs by 2040–2050. Cold-water corals are also threatened by warming temperatures and ocean acidification although evidence of the direct effect of climate change is less clear. Evidence that coral reefs can adapt at rates which are sufficient for them to keep up with rapid ocean warming and acidification is minimal, especially given that corals are long-lived and hence have slow rates of evolution. Conclusions that coral reefs will migrate to higher latitudes as they warm are equally unfounded, with the observations of tropical species appearing at high latitudes “necessary but not sufficient” evidence that entire coral reef ecosystems are shifting. On the contrary, coral reefs are likely to degrade rapidly over the next 20 years, presenting fundamental challenges for the 500 million people who derive food, income, coastal protection, and a range of

Biodiversity of Pigmented Fungi Isolated from Marine Environment in La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean: New Resources for Colored Metabolites

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Mireille Fouillaud

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Marine ecosystems cover about 70% of the planet surface and are still an underexploited source of useful metabolites. Among microbes, filamentous fungi are captivating organisms used for the production of many chemical classes of secondary metabolites bound to be used in various fields of industrial application. The present study was focused on the collection, isolation, screening and genotyping of pigmented filamentous fungi isolated from tropical marine environments around La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean. About 150 micromycetes were revived and isolated from 14 marine samples (sediments, living corals, coral rubble, sea water and hard substrates collected in four different locations. Forty-two colored fungal isolates belonging to 16 families, 25 genera and 31 species were further studied depending on their ability to produce pigments and thus subjected to molecular identification. From gene sequence analysis, the most frequently identified colored fungi belong to the widespread Penicillium, Talaromyces and Aspergillus genera in the family Trichocomaceae (11 species, then followed by the family Hypocreaceae (three species. This study demonstrates that marine biotopes in La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean, from coral reefs to underwater slopes of this volcanic island, shelter numerous species of micromycetes, from common or uncommon genera. This unstudied biodiversity comes along with the ability for some fungal marine inhabitants, to produce a range of pigments and hues.

Interannual to Decadal SST Variability in the Tropical Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, G.; Newman, M.; Han, W.

2017-12-01

The Indian Ocean has received increasing attention in recent years for its large impacts on regional and global climate. However, due mainly to the close interdependence of the climate variation within the Tropical Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the internal sea surface temperature (SST) variability within the Indian Ocean has not been studied extensively on longer time scales. In this presentation we will show analysis of the interannual to decadal SST variability in the Tropical Indian Ocean in observations and Linear Inverse Model (LIM) results. We also compare the decoupled Indian Ocean SST variability from the Pacific against fully coupled one based on LIM integrations, to test the factors influence the features of the leading SST modes in the Indian Ocean. The result shows the Indian Ocean Basin (IOB) mode, which is strongly related to global averaged SST variability, passively responses to the Pacific variation. Without tropical Indo-Pacific coupling interaction, the intensity of IOB significantly decreases by 80%. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) mode demonstrates its independence from the Pacific SST variability since the IOD does not change its long-term characteristics at all without inter-basin interactions. The overall SSTA variance decreases significantly in the Tropical Indian Ocean in the coupling restricted LIM runs, especially when the one-way impact from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean is turned off, suggesting that most of the variability in the Indian Ocean comes from the Pacific influence. On the other hand, the Indian Ocean could also transport anomalies to the Pacific, making the interaction a complete two-way process.

TSUNAMIGENIC SOURCES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

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B. K. Rastogi

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Based on an assessment of the repeat periods of great earthquakes from past seismicity, convergence rates and paleoseismological results, possible future source zones of tsunami generating earthquakes in the Indian Ocean (possible seismic gap areas are identified along subduction zones and zones of compression. Central Sumatra, Java, Makran coast, Indus Delta, Kutch-Saurashtra, Bangladesh and southern Myanmar are identified as possible source zones of earthquakes in near future which might cause tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, and in particular, that could affect India. The Sunda Arc (covering Sumatra and Java subduction zone, situated on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean, is one of the most active plate margins in the world that generates frequent great earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. The Andaman- Nicobar group of islands is also a seismically active zone that generates frequent earthquakes. However, northern Sumatra and Andaman-Nicobar regions are assessed to be probably free from great earthquakes (M!8.0 for a few decades due to occurrence of 2004 Mw 9.3 and 2005 Mw 8.7 earthquakes. The Krakatau volcanic eruptions have caused large tsunamis in the past. This volcano and a few others situated on the ocean bed can cause large tsunamis in the future. List of past tsunamis generated due to earthquakes/volcanic eruptions that affected the Indian region and vicinity in the Indian Ocean are also presented.

Coral Reefs: Beyond Mortality?

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Charles Sheppard

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The scale of the collapse of coral reef communities in 1998 following a warming episode (Wilkinson, 2000 was unprecedented, and took many people by surprise. The Indian Ocean was the worst affected with a coral mortality over 75% in many areas such as the Chagos Archipelago (Sheppard, 1999, Seychelles (Spencer et al., 2000 and Maldives (McClanahan, 2000. Several other locations were affected at least as much, with mortality reaching 100% (to the nearest whole number; this is being compiled by various authors (e.g., CORDIO, in press. For example, in the Arabian Gulf, coral mortality is almost total across many large areas of shallow water (Sheppard, unpublished; D. George and D. John, personal communication. The mortality is patchy of course, depending on currents, location inside or outside lagoons, etc., but it is now possible to swim for over 200 m and see not one remaining living coral or soft coral on some previously rich reefs.

Effects of ocean acidification and sea-level rise on coral reefs

Science.gov (United States)

Yates, K.K.; Moyer, R.P.

2010-01-01

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are developing comprehensive records of historical and modern coral reef growth and calcification rates relative to changing seawater chemistry resulting from increasing atmospheric CO2 from the pre-industrial period to the present. These records will provide the scientific foundation for predicting future impacts of ocean acidification and sea-level rise on coral reef growth. Changes in coral growth rates in response to past changes in seawater pH are being examined by using cores from coral colonies.

Deep-sea ecosystems of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ingole, B.S.; Koslow, J.A.

are potential sites for hydrothermal mineralization and contain active vent fields. There are no available estimates for the numbers of seamounts in the Indian Ocean based on echo sounder recordings. Satellite altimetry data indicate that the Indian Ocean has...

Pelagic communities of the South West Indian Ocean seamounts: R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Cruise 2009-410

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, A. D.; Alvheim, O.; Bemanaja, E.; Benivary, D.; Boersch-Supan, P.; Bornman, T. G.; Cedras, R.; Du Plessis, N.; Gotheil, S.; Høines, A.; Kemp, K.; Kristiansen, J.; Letessier, T.; Mangar, V.; Mazungula, N.; Mørk, T.; Pinet, P.; Pollard, R.; Read, J.; Sonnekus, T.

2017-02-01

The seamounts of the southern Indian Ocean remain some of the most poorly studied globally and yet have been subject to deep-sea fishing for decades and may face new exploitation through mining of seabed massive sulphides in the future. As an attempt to redress the knowledge deficit on deep-sea benthic and pelagic communities associated mainly with the seamounts of the South West Indian Ridge two cruises were undertaken to explore the pelagic and benthic ecology in 2009 and 2011 respectively. In this volume are presented studies on pelagic ecosystems around six seamounts, five on the South West Indian Ridge, including Atlantis Bank, Sapmer Seamount, Middle of What Seamount, Melville Bank and Coral Seamount and one un-named seamount on the Madagascar Ridge. In this paper, existing knowledge on the seamounts of the southwestern Indian Ocean is presented to provide context for the studies presented in this volume. An account of the overall aims, approaches and methods used primarily on the 2009 cruise are presented including metadata associated with sampling and some of the limitations of the study. Sampling during this cruise included physical oceanographic measurements, multibeam bathymetry, biological acoustics, and net sampling of phytoplankton, macrozooplankton and micronekton/nekton. The studies that follow reveal new data on the physical oceanography of this dynamic region of the oceans, and the important influence of water masses on the pelagic ecology associated with the seamounts of the South West Indian Ridge. New information on the pelagic fauna of the region fills an important biogeographic gap for the mid- to high-latitudes of the oceans of the southern hemisphere.

The Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2)

Science.gov (United States)

Cowie, Greg; Hood, Raleigh

2015-04-01

The International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) was one of the greatest international, interdisciplinary oceanographic research efforts of all time. Planning for the IIOE began in 1959 and the project officially continued through 1965, with forty-six research vessels participating under fourteen different flags. The IIOE motivated an unprecedented number of hydrographic surveys (and repeat surveys) over the course of the expedition covering the entire Indian Ocean basin. And it was an interdisciplinary endeavor that embraced physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, meteorology, marine biology, marine geology and geophysics. The end of 2015 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the completion of the IIOE. SCOR and the IOC are working to stimulate a new phase of coordinated international research focused on the Indian Ocean for a 5-year period beginning in late 2015 and continuing through 2020. The goal is to help to organize ongoing research and stimulate new initiatives in the 2015-2020 time frame as part of a larger expedition. Several International programs that have research ongoing or planned in the Indian Ocean during this time period and many countries are planning cruises in this time frame as well. These programs and national cruises will serve as a core for the new Indian Ocean research focus, which has been dubbed "IIOE-2." The overarching goal of the IIOE-2 is to advance our understanding of interactions between geological, oceanic and atmospheric processes that give rise to the complex physical dynamics of the Indian Ocean region, and to determine how those dynamics affect climate, extreme events, marine biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems and human populations. This understanding is required to predict the impacts of climate change, pollution, and increased fish harvesting on the Indian Ocean and its nations, as well as the influence of the Indian Ocean on other components of the Earth System. New understanding is also fundamental to policy makers for

Multi-decadal modulation of the El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship by Indian Ocean variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ummenhofer, Caroline C; Sen Gupta, Alexander; Li Yue; Taschetto, Andrea S; England, Matthew H

2011-01-01

The role of leading modes of Indo-Pacific climate variability is investigated for modulation of the strength of the Indian summer monsoon during the period 1877-2006. In particular, the effect of Indian Ocean conditions on the relationship between the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian monsoon is explored. Using an extended classification for ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) events for the past 130 years and reanalyses, we have expanded previous interannual work to show that variations in Indian Ocean conditions modulate the ENSO-Indian monsoon relationship also on decadal timescales. El Nino events are frequently accompanied by a significantly reduced Indian monsoon and widespread drought conditions due to anomalous subsidence associated with a shift in the descending branch of the zonal Walker circulation. However, for El Nino events that co-occur with positive IOD (pIOD) events, Indian Ocean conditions act to counter El Nino's drought-inducing subsidence by enhancing moisture convergence over the Indian subcontinent, with an average monsoon season resulting. Decadal modulations of the frequency of independent and combined El Nino and pIOD events are consistent with a strengthened El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship observed at the start of the 20th century and the apparent recent weakening of the El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship.

Multi-decadal modulation of the El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship by Indian Ocean variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ummenhofer, Caroline C; Sen Gupta, Alexander; Li Yue; Taschetto, Andrea S; England, Matthew H, E-mail: c.ummenhofer@unsw.edu.au [Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia)

2011-07-15

The role of leading modes of Indo-Pacific climate variability is investigated for modulation of the strength of the Indian summer monsoon during the period 1877-2006. In particular, the effect of Indian Ocean conditions on the relationship between the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian monsoon is explored. Using an extended classification for ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) events for the past 130 years and reanalyses, we have expanded previous interannual work to show that variations in Indian Ocean conditions modulate the ENSO-Indian monsoon relationship also on decadal timescales. El Nino events are frequently accompanied by a significantly reduced Indian monsoon and widespread drought conditions due to anomalous subsidence associated with a shift in the descending branch of the zonal Walker circulation. However, for El Nino events that co-occur with positive IOD (pIOD) events, Indian Ocean conditions act to counter El Nino's drought-inducing subsidence by enhancing moisture convergence over the Indian subcontinent, with an average monsoon season resulting. Decadal modulations of the frequency of independent and combined El Nino and pIOD events are consistent with a strengthened El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship observed at the start of the 20th century and the apparent recent weakening of the El Nino-Indian monsoon relationship.

Tropical Indian Ocean Variability Driving Southeast Australian Droughts

Science.gov (United States)

Ummenhofer, C. C.; England, M. H.; McIntosh, P. C.; Meyers, G. A.; Pook, M. J.; Risbey, J. S.; Sen Gupta, A.; Taschetto, A. S.

2009-04-01

Variability in the tropical Indian Ocean has widespread effects on rainfall in surrounding countries, including East Africa, India and Indonesia. The leading mode of tropical Indian Ocean variability, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), is a coupled ocean-atmosphere mode characterized by sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of opposite sign in the east and west of the basin with an associated large-scale atmospheric re-organisation. Earlier work has often focused on the positive phase of the IOD. However, we show here that the negative IOD phase is an important driver of regional rainfall variability and multi-year droughts. For southeastern Australia, we show that it is actually a lack of the negative IOD phase, rather than the positive IOD phase or Pacific variability, that provides the most robust explanation for recent drought conditions. Since 1995, a large region of Australia has been gripped by the most severe drought in living memory, the so-called "Big Dry". The ramifications for affected regions are dire, with acute water shortages for rural and metropolitan areas, record agricultural losses, the drying-out of two of Australia's major river systems and far-reaching ecosystem damage. Yet the drought's origins have remained elusive. For Southeast Australia, we show that the "Big Dry" and other iconic 20th Century droughts, including the Federation Drought (1895-1902) and World War II drought (1937-1945), are driven by tropical Indian Ocean variability, not Pacific Ocean conditions as traditionally assumed. Specifically, a conspicuous absence of characteristic Indian Ocean temperature conditions that are conducive to enhanced tropical moisture transport has deprived southeastern Australia of its normal rainfall quota. In the case of the "Big Dry", its unprecedented intensity is also related to recent above-average temperatures. Implications of recent non-uniform warming trends in the Indian Ocean and how that might affect ocean characteristics and climate in

Hybridisation among groupers (genus Cephalopholis) at the eastern Indian Ocean suture zone: taxonomic and evolutionary implications

Science.gov (United States)

Payet, Samuel D.; Hobbs, Jean-Paul A.; DiBattista, Joseph D.; Newman, Stephen J.; Sinclair-Taylor, Tane; Berumen, Michael L.; McIlwain, Jennifer L.

2016-12-01

Hybridisation is a significant evolutionary process that until recently was considered rare in the marine environment. A suture zone in the eastern Indian Ocean is home to numerous hybridising sister species, providing an ideal opportunity to determine how hybridisation affects speciation and biodiversity in coral reef fishes. At this location, hybridisation between two grouper (Epinephelidae) species: Cephalopholis urodeta (Pacific Ocean) and C. nigripinnis (Indian Ocean) was investigated to determine the genetic basis of hybridisation and to compare the ecology and life history of hybrids and their parent species. This approach aimed to provide insights into the taxonomic and evolutionary consequences of hybridisation. Despite clear phenotypic differences, multiple molecular markers revealed hybrids, and their parent species were genetically homogenous within and (thousands of kilometres) outside of the hybrid zone. Hybrids were at least as fit as their parent species (in terms of growth, reproduction, and abundance) and were observed in a broad range of intermediate phenotypes. The two species appear to be interbreeding at Christmas Island due to inherent biological and ecological compatibilities, and the lack of genetic structure may be explained by three potential scenarios: (1) hybridisation and introgression; (2) discordance between morphology and genetics; and (3) incomplete lineage sorting. Further molecular analyses are necessary to discriminate these scenarios. Regardless of which applies, C. urodeta and C. nigripinnis are unlikely to evolve in reproductive isolation as they cohabit where they are common (Christmas Island) and will source congeneric mates where they are rare (Cocos Keeling Islands). Our results add to the growing body of evidence that hybridisation among coral reef fishes is a dynamic evolutionary factor.

Hybridisation among groupers (genus Cephalopholis) at the eastern Indian Ocean suture zone: taxonomic and evolutionary implications

KAUST Repository

Payet, Samuel D.

2016-08-05

Hybridisation is a significant evolutionary process that until recently was considered rare in the marine environment. A suture zone in the eastern Indian Ocean is home to numerous hybridising sister species, providing an ideal opportunity to determine how hybridisation affects speciation and biodiversity in coral reef fishes. At this location, hybridisation between two grouper (Epinephelidae) species: Cephalopholis urodeta (Pacific Ocean) and C. nigripinnis (Indian Ocean) was investigated to determine the genetic basis of hybridisation and to compare the ecology and life history of hybrids and their parent species. This approach aimed to provide insights into the taxonomic and evolutionary consequences of hybridisation. Despite clear phenotypic differences, multiple molecular markers revealed hybrids, and their parent species were genetically homogenous within and (thousands of kilometres) outside of the hybrid zone. Hybrids were at least as fit as their parent species (in terms of growth, reproduction, and abundance) and were observed in a broad range of intermediate phenotypes. The two species appear to be interbreeding at Christmas Island due to inherent biological and ecological compatibilities, and the lack of genetic structure may be explained by three potential scenarios: (1) hybridisation and introgression; (2) discordance between morphology and genetics; and (3) incomplete lineage sorting. Further molecular analyses are necessary to discriminate these scenarios. Regardless of which applies, C. urodeta and C. nigripinnis are unlikely to evolve in reproductive isolation as they cohabit where they are common (Christmas Island) and will source congeneric mates where they are rare (Cocos Keeling Islands). Our results add to the growing body of evidence that hybridisation among coral reef fishes is a dynamic evolutionary factor. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Hybridisation among groupers (genus Cephalopholis) at the eastern Indian Ocean suture zone: taxonomic and evolutionary implications

KAUST Repository

Payet, Samuel D.; Hobbs, Jean-Paul A.; DiBattista, Joseph; Newman, Stephen J.; Sinclair-Taylor, Tane; Berumen, Michael L.; McIlwain, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Hybridisation is a significant evolutionary process that until recently was considered rare in the marine environment. A suture zone in the eastern Indian Ocean is home to numerous hybridising sister species, providing an ideal opportunity to determine how hybridisation affects speciation and biodiversity in coral reef fishes. At this location, hybridisation between two grouper (Epinephelidae) species: Cephalopholis urodeta (Pacific Ocean) and C. nigripinnis (Indian Ocean) was investigated to determine the genetic basis of hybridisation and to compare the ecology and life history of hybrids and their parent species. This approach aimed to provide insights into the taxonomic and evolutionary consequences of hybridisation. Despite clear phenotypic differences, multiple molecular markers revealed hybrids, and their parent species were genetically homogenous within and (thousands of kilometres) outside of the hybrid zone. Hybrids were at least as fit as their parent species (in terms of growth, reproduction, and abundance) and were observed in a broad range of intermediate phenotypes. The two species appear to be interbreeding at Christmas Island due to inherent biological and ecological compatibilities, and the lack of genetic structure may be explained by three potential scenarios: (1) hybridisation and introgression; (2) discordance between morphology and genetics; and (3) incomplete lineage sorting. Further molecular analyses are necessary to discriminate these scenarios. Regardless of which applies, C. urodeta and C. nigripinnis are unlikely to evolve in reproductive isolation as they cohabit where they are common (Christmas Island) and will source congeneric mates where they are rare (Cocos Keeling Islands). Our results add to the growing body of evidence that hybridisation among coral reef fishes is a dynamic evolutionary factor. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Zoogeography of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, T.S.S.

The distribution pattern of zooplankton in the Indian Ocean is briefly reviewed on a within and between ocean patterns and is limited to species within a quite restricted sort of groups namely, Copepoda, Chaetognatha, Pteropoda and Euphausiacea...

Impacts of Ocean Acidification and Temperature Change on Zooxanthellae Density in Coral Stylophora pistillata

Science.gov (United States)

Pantaleo, G. E.; Martínez Fernández, A.; Paytan, A.

2016-12-01

As ocean conditions continue to change, marine ecosystems are significantly impacted. Many calcifying organisms are being affected by the gradual changes in ocean pH and temperature that continue to occur over time. Corals are organisms that engage in a symbiotic relationship with Symbiodinium dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae). Symbiodinium are responsible for photosynthetic activity within oligotrophic waters. Corals depend on high levels of aragonite saturation state of seawater in order to build their skeletal structure. Most corals have a relatively narrow optimal range of temperature and pH in which they thrive. However, it is thought that corals residing in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) are resilient to the effects of increasing temperature. Stylophora pistillata's response to environmental impacts was tested via a simulation of ocean conditions at a high temperature and high CO2 emission scenario (pH 7.65) and lower CO2 emission scenario (pH 7.85) that are predicted for the end of this century. We present the difference in zooxanthellae density following a short term experiment where corals were placed in seawater tanks at pH 7.65, 7.85 and 8.1 and temperature was increased by 4 degrees C above seawater temperature in order to measure the response of Stylophora pistillata to potential future ocean conditions.

Archives: Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science

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Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science: Journal ...

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Future habitat suitability for coral reef ecosystems under global warming and ocean acidification

OpenAIRE

Couce, Elena M; Ridgwell, Andy J; Hendy, Erica

2013-01-01

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are placing spatially divergent stresses on the world’s tropical coral reefs through increasing ocean surface temperatures and ocean acidification. We show how these two stressors combine to alter the global habitat suitability for shallow coral reef ecosystems, using statistical Bioclimatic Envelope Models rather than basing projections on any a priori assumptions of physiological tolerances or fixed thresholds. We apply two different modeling approaches...

Major cellular and physiological impacts of ocean acidification on a reef building coral.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaniewska, Paulina; Campbell, Paul R; Kline, David I; Rodriguez-Lanetty, Mauricio; Miller, David J; Dove, Sophie; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove

2012-01-01

As atmospheric levels of CO(2) increase, reef-building corals are under greater stress from both increased sea surface temperatures and declining sea water pH. To date, most studies have focused on either coral bleaching due to warming oceans or declining calcification due to decreasing oceanic carbonate ion concentrations. Here, through the use of physiology measurements and cDNA microarrays, we show that changes in pH and ocean chemistry consistent with two scenarios put forward by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) drive major changes in gene expression, respiration, photosynthesis and symbiosis of the coral, Acropora millepora, before affects on biomineralisation are apparent at the phenotype level. Under high CO(2) conditions corals at the phenotype level lost over half their Symbiodinium populations, and had a decrease in both photosynthesis and respiration. Changes in gene expression were consistent with metabolic suppression, an increase in oxidative stress, apoptosis and symbiont loss. Other expression patterns demonstrate upregulation of membrane transporters, as well as the regulation of genes involved in membrane cytoskeletal interactions and cytoskeletal remodeling. These widespread changes in gene expression emphasize the need to expand future studies of ocean acidification to include a wider spectrum of cellular processes, many of which may occur before impacts on calcification.

Major cellular and physiological impacts of ocean acidification on a reef building coral.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Kaniewska

Full Text Available As atmospheric levels of CO(2 increase, reef-building corals are under greater stress from both increased sea surface temperatures and declining sea water pH. To date, most studies have focused on either coral bleaching due to warming oceans or declining calcification due to decreasing oceanic carbonate ion concentrations. Here, through the use of physiology measurements and cDNA microarrays, we show that changes in pH and ocean chemistry consistent with two scenarios put forward by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC drive major changes in gene expression, respiration, photosynthesis and symbiosis of the coral, Acropora millepora, before affects on biomineralisation are apparent at the phenotype level. Under high CO(2 conditions corals at the phenotype level lost over half their Symbiodinium populations, and had a decrease in both photosynthesis and respiration. Changes in gene expression were consistent with metabolic suppression, an increase in oxidative stress, apoptosis and symbiont loss. Other expression patterns demonstrate upregulation of membrane transporters, as well as the regulation of genes involved in membrane cytoskeletal interactions and cytoskeletal remodeling. These widespread changes in gene expression emphasize the need to expand future studies of ocean acidification to include a wider spectrum of cellular processes, many of which may occur before impacts on calcification.

Coral Reef Habitat Suitability in Future Climate Scenarios from NCAR CESM1 considering a Suite of Biogeochemical Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, L. A.; Kleypas, J. A.; Miller, A. J.

2013-12-01

A maximum entropy species distribution model (Maxent) is used to describe coral reef habitat in current climate conditions and to predict changes to that habitat during the 21st century. Two climate change scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) from the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) were used with Maxent to determine environmental suitability for the family of corals Scleractina in 1° by 1° cells. Input environmental variables most suitable for representing coral habitat limitation are isolated using a principal component analysis and include cumulative thermal stress, salinity, light availability, current speed, phosphate levels and aragonite saturation state. Considering a suite of environmental variables allows for a more synergistic view of future habitat suitability, although individual variables are found to be limiting in certain areas- for example, aragonite saturation state is limiting at higher latitudes. Climate-driven coral reef habitat changes depend strongly on the oceanic region of interest and the region of corals used to train the niche model. Increased global coral habitat loss occurred in both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate projections as time progressed through the 21th century. Maximum suitable habitat loss was 82% by 2100 for RCP8.5. When only Caribbean/Atlantic coral reef environmental data is applied globally, 88% of global habitat was lost by 2100 for RCP8.5. The global runs utilizing only Pacific Ocean reefs' ability to survive showed the most significant worldwide loss, 90% by 2100 for RCP8.5. When Maxent was trained with Indian Ocean reefs, an increase in suitable habitat worldwide was estimated. Habitat suitability was found to increase by 38% in RCP4.5 by 2100 and 28% in RCP8.5 by 2050. This suggests that shallow tropical sites in the Indian Ocean basin experience conditions today that are most similar to future worldwide climate projections. Indian Ocean reefs may be ideal candidate

Responses of the tropical gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to ocean acidification conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, C. E.; Paul, V. J.; Ritson-Williams, R.; Muehllehner, N.; Langdon, C.; Sánchez, J. A.

2015-06-01

Ocean acidification can have negative repercussions from the organism to ecosystem levels. Octocorals deposit high-magnesium calcite in their skeletons, and according to different models, they could be more susceptible to the depletion of carbonate ions than either calcite or aragonite-depositing organisms. This study investigated the response of the gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to a range of CO2 concentrations from 285 to 4,568 ppm (pH range 8.1-7.1) over a 4-week period. Gorgonian growth and calcification were measured at each level of CO2 as linear extension rate and percent change in buoyant weight and calcein incorporation in individual sclerites, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship for calcification and CO2 concentration that was well explained by a linear model regression analysis for both buoyant weight and calcein staining. In general, growth and calcification did not stop in any of the concentrations of pCO2; however, some of the octocoral fragments experienced negative calcification at undersaturated levels of calcium carbonate (>4,500 ppm) suggesting possible dissolution effects. These results highlight the susceptibility of the gorgonian coral E. fusca to elevated levels of carbon dioxide but suggest that E. fusca could still survive well in mid-term ocean acidification conditions expected by the end of this century, which provides important information on the effects of ocean acidification on the dynamics of coral reef communities. Gorgonian corals can be expected to diversify and thrive in the Atlantic-Eastern Pacific; as scleractinian corals decline, it is likely to expect a shift in these reef communities from scleractinian coral dominated to octocoral/soft coral dominated under a "business as usual" scenario of CO2 emissions.

Climate-change refugia: shading reef corals by turbidity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cacciapaglia, Chris; van Woesik, Robert

2016-03-01

Coral reefs have recently experienced an unprecedented decline as the world's oceans continue to warm. Yet global climate models reveal a heterogeneously warming ocean, which has initiated a search for refuges, where corals may survive in the near future. We hypothesized that some turbid nearshore environments may act as climate-change refuges, shading corals from the harmful interaction between high sea-surface temperatures and high irradiance. We took a hierarchical Bayesian approach to determine the expected distribution of 12 coral species in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, between the latitudes 37°N and 37°S, under representative concentration pathway 8.5 (W m(-2) ) by 2100. The turbid nearshore refuges identified in this study were located between latitudes 20-30°N and 15-25°S, where there was a strong coupling between turbidity and tidal fluctuations. Our model predicts that turbidity will mitigate high temperature bleaching for 9% of shallow reef habitat (to 30 m depth) - habitat that was previously considered inhospitable under ocean warming. Our model also predicted that turbidity will protect some coral species more than others from climate-change-associated thermal stress. We also identified locations where consistently high turbidity will likely reduce irradiance to turbid nearshore refuges identified in this study, particularly in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the northern Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands (Japan), eastern Vietnam, western and eastern Australia, New Caledonia, the northern Red Sea, and the Arabian Gulf, should become part of a judicious global strategy for reef-coral persistence under climate change. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Responses of two scleractinian corals to cobalt pollution and ocean acidification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tom Biscéré

Full Text Available The effects of ocean acidification alone or in combination with warming on coral metabolism have been extensively investigated, whereas none of these studies consider that most coral reefs near shore are already impacted by other natural anthropogenic inputs such as metal pollution. It is likely that projected ocean acidification levels will aggravate coral reef health. We first investigated how ocean acidification interacts with one near shore locally abundant metal on the physiology of two major reef-building corals: Stylophora pistillata and Acropora muricata. Two pH levels (pHT 8.02; pCO2 366 μatm and pHT 7.75; pCO2 1140 μatm and two cobalt concentrations (natural, 0.03 μg L-1 and polluted, 0.2 μg L-1 were tested during five weeks in aquaria. We found that, for both species, cobalt input decreased significantly their growth rates by 28% while it stimulated their photosystem II, with higher values of rETRmax (relative Electron Transport Rate. Elevated pCO2 levels acted differently on the coral rETRmax values and did not affect their growth rates. No consistent interaction was found between pCO2 levels and cobalt concentrations. We also measured in situ the effect of higher cobalt concentrations (1.06 ± 0.16 μg L-1 on A. muricata using benthic chamber experiments. At this elevated concentration, cobalt decreased simultaneously coral growth and photosynthetic rates, indicating that the toxic threshold for this pollutant has been reached for both host cells and zooxanthellae. Our results from both aquaria and in situ experiments, suggest that these coral species are not particularly sensitive to high pCO2 conditions but they are to ecologically relevant cobalt concentrations. Our study reveals that some reefs may be yet subjected to deleterious pollution levels, and even if no interaction between pCO2 levels and cobalt concentration has been found, it is likely that coral metabolism will be weakened if they are subjected to additional

Role of tropical Indian and Atlantic Oceans variability on ENSO

Science.gov (United States)

Prodhomme, Chloé; Terray, Pascal; Masson, Sebastien; Boschat, Ghyslaine

2014-05-01

There are strong evidences of an interaction between tropical Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Nevertheless, these interactions remain deeply controversial. While some authors claim the tropical Indian and Atlantic oceans only play a passive role with respect to ENSO, others suggest a driving role for these two basins on ENSO. The mecanisms underlying these relations are not fully understood and, in the Indian Ocean, the possible role of both modes of tropical variability (the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the Indian Ocean Basin mode (IOB)) remain unclear. To better quantify and understand how the variability of the tropical Indian and Atlantic Oceans impact ENSO variability, we performed two sensitivity experiments using the SINTEX-F2 coupled model. For each experiment, we suppressed the variability of SST and the air-sea coupling in either the tropical Indian Ocean or tropical Atlantic Ocean by applying a strong nudging of the SST to the observed SST climatology. In both experiments, the ENSO periodicity increases. In the Atlantic experiment, our understanding of this increased periodicity is drastically limited by the strongly biased mean state in this region. Conversely, in the Indian Ocean experiment, the increase of ENSO periodicity is related to the absence of the IOB following the El Niño peak, which leads to a decrease of westerly winds in the western Pacific during late winter and spring after the peak. These weaker westerlies hinders the transition to a La Niña phase and thus increase the duration and periodicity of the event.

Thorium content in bottom sediments of Pacific and Indian oceans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurvich, E.G.; Lisitsyn, A.P.

1980-01-01

Presented are the results of 232 Th distribution study in different substance-genetic types of bottom sediments of Pacific and Indian oceans. Th content determination has been carried out by the method of instrumental neutron activation analysis. Th distribution maps in the surface layer of bottom sediments of Pacific and Indian oceans are drawn. It is noted that Indian ocean sediments are much richer with Th moreover Th distribution in different types of sediments is very non-uniform. Non-uniformity of Th distribution in different types of Pacific ocean sediments is considerably less than that of Indian ocean and exceeds it only in red oozes

Biogeochemical proxies in Scleractinian corals used to reconstruct ocean circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guilderson, T.P.; Kashgarian, M.; Schrag, D.P.

2002-01-01

We utilize monthly 14 C data derived from coral archives in conjunction with ocean circulation models to address two questions: 1) how does the shallow circulation of the tropical Pacific vary on seasonal to decadal time scales and 2) which dynamic processes determine the mean vertical structure of the equatorial Pacific thermocline. Our results directly impact the understanding of global climate events such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). To study changes in ocean circulation and water mass distribution involved in the genesis and evolution of ENSO and decadal climate variability, it is necessary to have records of climate variables several decades in length. Continuous instrumental records are limited because technology for continuous monitoring of ocean currents has only recently been available, and ships of opportunity archives such as COADS contain large spatial and temporal biases. In addition, temperature and salinity in surface waters are not conservative and thus can not be independently relied upon to trace water masses, reducing the utility of historical observations. Radiocarbon ( 14 C) in sea water is a quasi-conservative water mass tracer and is incorporated into coral skeletal material, thus coral 14 C records can be used to reconstruct changes in shallow circulation that would be difficult to characterize using instrumental data. High resolution Δ 14 C time-series such as these, provide a powerful constraint on the rate of surface ocean mixing and hold great promise to augment onetime surveys such as GEOSECS and WOCE. These data not only provide fundamental information about the shallow circulation of the Pacific, but can be used as a benchmark for the next generation of high resolution ocean models used in prognosticating climate change. (author)

Coral reef community, Mokapu Ocean Outfall, Oahu, HI 1998, (NODC Accession 0000173)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This report provides the results of the first quantitative survey of the coral reef communities in the vicinity of the Mokapu Ocean Outfall in Kailua Bay, Oahu,...

Coral based-ENSO/IOD related climate variability in Indonesia: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Yudawati Cahyarini, Sri; Henrizan, Marfasran

2018-02-01

Indonesia is located in the prominent site to study climate variability as it lies between Pacific and Indian Ocean. It has consequences to the regional climate in Indonesia that its climate variability is influenced by the climate events in the Pacific oceans (e.g. ENSO) and in the Indian ocean (e.g. IOD), and monsoon as well as Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Northwestern monsoon causes rainfall in the region of Indonesia, while reversely Southwestern monsoon causes dry season around Indonesia. The ENSO warm phase called El Nino causes several droughts in Indonesian region, reversely the La Nina causes flooding in some regions in Indonesia. However, the impact of ENSO in Indonesia is different from one place to the others. Having better understanding on the climate phenomenon and its impact to the region requires long time series climate data. Paleoclimate study which provides climate data back into hundreds to thousands even to million years overcome this requirement. Coral Sr/Ca can provide information on past sea surface temperature (SST) and paired Sr/Ca and δ18O may be used to reconstruct variations in the precipitation balance (salinity) at monthly to annual interannual resolution. Several climate studies based on coral geochemical records in Indonesia show that coral Sr/Ca and δ18O from Indonesian records SST and salinity respectively. Coral Sr/Ca from inshore Seribu islands complex shows more air temperature rather than SST. Modern coral from Timor shows the impact of ENSO and IOD to the saliniy and SST is different at Timor sea. This result should be taken into account when interpreting Paleoclimate records over Indonesia. Timor coral also shows more pronounced low frequency SST variability compared to the SST reanalysis (model). The longer data of low frequency variability will improve the understanding of warming trend in this climatically important region.

Intraspecific variations in responses to ocean acidification in two branching coral species.

Science.gov (United States)

Sekizawa, Ayami; Uechi, Hikaru; Iguchi, Akira; Nakamura, Takashi; Kumagai, Naoki H; Suzuki, Atsushi; Sakai, Kazuhiko; Nojiri, Yukihiro

2017-09-15

Ocean acidification is widely recognised to have a negative impact on marine calcifying organisms by reducing calcifications, but controversy remains over whether such organisms could cope with ocean acidification within a range of phenotypic plasticity and/or adapt to future acidifying ocean. We performed a laboratory rearing experiment using clonal fragments of the common branching corals Montipora digitata and Porites cylindrica under control and acidified seawater (lower pH) conditions (approximately 400 and 900μatm pCO 2 , respectively) and evaluated the intraspecific variations in their responses to ocean acidification. Intra- and interspecific variations in calcification and photosynthetic efficiency were evident according to both pCO 2 conditions and colony, indicating that responses to acidification may be individually variable at the colony level. Our results suggest that some corals may cope with ocean acidification within their present genotypic composition by adaptation through phenotypic plasticity, while others may be placed under selective pressures resulting in population alteration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mediterranean climate change and Indian Ocean warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoerling, M.; Eischeid, J.; Hurrel, J.

2006-01-01

General circulation model (GCM) responses to 20. century changes in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and greenhouse gases are diagnosed, with emphasis on their relationship to observed regional climate change over the Mediterranean region. A major question is whether the Mediterranean region's drying trend since 1950 can be understood as a consequence of the warming trend in tropical SSTs. We focus on the impact of Indian Ocean warming, which is itself the likely result of increasing greenhouse gases. It is discovered that a strong projection onto the positive polarity of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index characterizes the atmospheric response structure to the 1950-1999 warming of Indian Ocean SSTs. This influence appears to be robust in so far as it is reproduced in ensembles of experiments using three different GCMs. Both the equilibrium and transient responses to Indian Ocean warming are examined. Under each scenario, the latitude of prevailing mid latitude westerlies shifts poleward during the November-April period. The consequence is a drying of the Mediterranean region, whereas northern Europe and Scandinavia receive increased precipitation in concert with the poleward shift of storminess. The IPCC (TAR) 20. century coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations forced by observed greenhouse gas changes also yield a post-1950 drying trend over the Mediterranean. We argue that this feature of human-induced regional climate change is the outcome of a dynamical feedback, one involving Indian Ocean warming and a requisite adjustment of atmospheric circulation systems to such ocean warming

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Modelling and analyzing the watershed dynamics using Cellular Automata (CA)– Markov ... based on past trend in a hydrological unit, Choudwar watershed, India. ... Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL), Indian ...

The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Karl D; Ries, Justin B; Bruno, John F; Westfield, Isaac T

2014-12-22

Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1-0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1-4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-builder in the Caribbean Sea. We show that both acidification and warming cause a parabolic response in the calcification rate within this coral species. Moderate increases in pCO2 and warming, relative to near-present-day values, enhanced coral calcification, with calcification rates declining under the highest pCO2 and thermal conditions. Equivalent responses to acidification and warming were exhibited by colonies across reef zones and the parabolic nature of the corals' response to these stressors was evident across all three of the experiment's 30-day observational intervals. Furthermore, the warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the end of the twenty-first century caused a fivefold decrease in the rate of coral calcification, while the acidification projected for the same interval had no statistically significant impact on the calcification rate-suggesting that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat than acidification for this important coral species.

Ocean acidification effects on calcification in pCO2 acclimated Caribbean scleractinian coral

Science.gov (United States)

Ocean acidification (OA) is projected to increase the acidity of coral reef habitats 2-3 times that of present day pCO2 levels. Many studies have shown the adverse effects on scleractinian calcification when exposed to elevated pCO2 levels, however, in these studies, corals have ...

Monitoring of heavy metal partitioning in reef corals of Lakshadweep Archipelago, Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Anu, G.; Kumar, N.C.; Jayalakshmy, K.V.; Nair, S.M.

concentrations of all the trace metals (except Zn) were reported for the ramose type corals. In tissue, all the metals (essential as well as non essential) showed highest concentrations within the branching type corals. Irrespective of their growth...

Western Indian Ocean - A glimpse of the tectonic scenario

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bhattacharya, G.C.; Chaubey, A.K.

is the en echelon displacement of the NW-SE trending ridge axis by numerous NE-SW trending fracture Western Indian Ocean - A Glimpse of the Tectonic Scenario 693 Table 1. Some information from the scientific drilling campaigns in the western Indian Ocean...: Raman Seamount; P: Panikkar Seamount; W: Wadia Guyot; S: SagarKanya Seamount; SR: ShebaRidge; CR: Carlsberg Ridge; CIR: Central Indian Ridge; SWIR: Southwest Indian Ridge; RTJ: Rodrigues Triple Junction; OFZ: Owen Fracture Zone; LR: Laxmi Ridge; MR...

Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

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Decarlo, Thomas M.; Cohen, Anne L.; Wong, George T. F.; Davis, Kristen A.; Lohmann, Pat; Soong, Keryea

2017-03-01

A 2 °C increase in global temperature above pre-industrial levels is considered a reasonable target for avoiding the most devastating impacts of anthropogenic climate change. In June 2015, sea surface temperature (SST) of the South China Sea (SCS) increased by 2 °C in response to the developing Pacific El Niño. On its own, this moderate, short-lived warming was unlikely to cause widespread damage to coral reefs in the region, and the coral reef “Bleaching Alert” alarm was not raised. However, on Dongsha Atoll, in the northern SCS, unusually weak winds created low-flow conditions that amplified the 2 °C basin-scale anomaly. Water temperatures on the reef flat, normally indistinguishable from open-ocean SST, exceeded 6 °C above normal summertime levels. Mass coral bleaching quickly ensued, killing 40% of the resident coral community in an event unprecedented in at least the past 40 years. Our findings highlight the risks of 2 °C ocean warming to coral reef ecosystems when global and local processes align to drive intense heating, with devastating consequences.

Community production modulates coral reef pH and the sensitivity of ecosystem calcification to ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

DeCarlo, Thomas M.; Cohen, Anne L.; Wong, George T. F.; Shiah, Fuh-Kwo; Lentz, Steven J.; Davis, Kristen A.; Shamberger, Kathryn E. F.; Lohmann, Pat

2017-01-01

Coral reefs are built of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) produced biogenically by a diversity of calcifying plants, animals, and microbes. As the ocean warms and acidifies, there is mounting concern that declining calcification rates could shift coral reef CaCO3 budgets from net accretion to net dissolution. We quantified net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and production (NEP) on Dongsha Atoll, northern South China Sea, over a 2 week period that included a transient bleaching event. Peak daytime pH on the wide, shallow reef flat during the nonbleaching period was ˜8.5, significantly elevated above that of the surrounding open ocean (˜8.0-8.1) as a consequence of daytime NEP (up to 112 mmol C m-2 h-1). Diurnal-averaged NEC was 390 ± 90 mmol CaCO3 m-2 d-1, higher than any other coral reef studied to date despite comparable calcifier cover (25%) and relatively high fleshy algal cover (19%). Coral bleaching linked to elevated temperatures significantly reduced daytime NEP by 29 mmol C m-2 h-1. pH on the reef flat declined by 0.2 units, causing a 40% reduction in NEC in the absence of pH changes in the surrounding open ocean. Our findings highlight the interactive relationship between carbonate chemistry of coral reef ecosystems and ecosystem production and calcification rates, which are in turn impacted by ocean warming. As open-ocean waters bathing coral reefs warm and acidify over the 21st century, the health and composition of reef benthic communities will play a major role in determining on-reef conditions that will in turn dictate the ecosystem response to climate change.

Metagenomic exploration of viruses throughout the Indian Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon J Williamson

Full Text Available The characterization of global marine microbial taxonomic and functional diversity is a primary goal of the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition. As part of this study, 19 water samples were collected aboard the Sorcerer II sailing vessel from the southern Indian Ocean in an effort to more thoroughly understand the lifestyle strategies of the microbial inhabitants of this ultra-oligotrophic region. No investigations of whole virioplankton assemblages have been conducted on waters collected from the Indian Ocean or across multiple size fractions thus far. Therefore, the goals of this study were to examine the effect of size fractionation on viral consortia structure and function and understand the diversity and functional potential of the Indian Ocean virome. Five samples were selected for comprehensive metagenomic exploration; and sequencing was performed on the microbes captured on 3.0-, 0.8- and 0.1 µm membrane filters as well as the viral fraction (<0.1 µm. Phylogenetic approaches were also used to identify predicted proteins of viral origin in the larger fractions of data from all Indian Ocean samples, which were included in subsequent metagenomic analyses. Taxonomic profiling of viral sequences suggested that size fractionation of marine microbial communities enriches for specific groups of viruses within the different size classes and functional characterization further substantiated this observation. Functional analyses also revealed a relative enrichment for metabolic proteins of viral origin that potentially reflect the physiological condition of host cells in the Indian Ocean including those involved in nitrogen metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. A novel classification method, MGTAXA, was used to assess virus-host relationships in the Indian Ocean by predicting the taxonomy of putative host genera, with Prochlorococcus, Acanthochlois and members of the SAR86 cluster comprising the most abundant predictions. This is the first study

Future habitat suitability for coral reef ecosystems under global warming and ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Couce, Elena; Ridgwell, Andy; Hendy, Erica J

2013-12-01

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are placing spatially divergent stresses on the world's tropical coral reefs through increasing ocean surface temperatures and ocean acidification. We show how these two stressors combine to alter the global habitat suitability for shallow coral reef ecosystems, using statistical Bioclimatic Envelope Models rather than basing projections on any a priori assumptions of physiological tolerances or fixed thresholds. We apply two different modeling approaches (Maximum Entropy and Boosted Regression Trees) with two levels of complexity (one a simplified and reduced environmental variable version of the other). Our models project a marked temperature-driven decline in habitat suitability for many of the most significant and bio-diverse tropical coral regions, particularly in the central Indo-Pacific. This is accompanied by a temperature-driven poleward range expansion of favorable conditions accelerating up to 40-70 km per decade by 2070. We find that ocean acidification is less influential for determining future habitat suitability than warming, and its deleterious effects are centered evenly in both hemispheres between 5° and 20° latitude. Contrary to expectations, the combined impact of ocean surface temperature rise and acidification leads to little, if any, degradation in future habitat suitability across much of the Atlantic and areas currently considered 'marginal' for tropical corals, such as the eastern Equatorial Pacific. These results are consistent with fossil evidence of range expansions during past warm periods. In addition, the simplified models are particularly sensitive to short-term temperature variations and their projections correlate well with reported locations of bleaching events. Our approach offers new insights into the relative impact of two global environmental pressures associated with rising atmospheric CO2 on potential future habitats, but greater understanding of past and current controls on coral

Global habitat suitability for framework-forming cold-water corals.

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Andrew J Davies

Full Text Available Predictive habitat models are increasingly being used by conservationists, researchers and governmental bodies to identify vulnerable ecosystems and species' distributions in areas that have not been sampled. However, in the deep sea, several limitations have restricted the widespread utilisation of this approach. These range from issues with the accuracy of species presences, the lack of reliable absence data and the limited spatial resolution of environmental factors known or thought to control deep-sea species' distributions. To address these problems, global habitat suitability models have been generated for five species of framework-forming scleractinian corals by taking the best available data and using a novel approach to generate high resolution maps of seafloor conditions. High-resolution global bathymetry was used to resample gridded data from sources such as World Ocean Atlas to produce continuous 30-arc second (∼1 km(2 global grids for environmental, chemical and physical data of the world's oceans. The increased area and resolution of the environmental variables resulted in a greater number of coral presence records being incorporated into habitat models and higher accuracy of model predictions. The most important factors in determining cold-water coral habitat suitability were depth, temperature, aragonite saturation state and salinity. Model outputs indicated the majority of suitable coral habitat is likely to occur on the continental shelves and slopes of the Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The North Pacific has very little suitable scleractinian coral habitat. Numerous small scale features (i.e., seamounts, which have not been sampled or identified as having a high probability of supporting cold-water coral habitat were identified in all ocean basins. Field validation of newly identified areas is needed to determine the accuracy of model results, assess the utility of modelling efforts to identify vulnerable marine

Seven new species of Paleanotus (Annelida: Chrysopetalidae) described from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, and coral reefs of northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific: two cryptic species pairs revealed between western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Charlotte

2015-09-18

Morphological investigation into the paleate genus Paleanotus Schmarda 1861 of the family Chrysopetalidae from northern Australian coral reefs, primarily Lizard Island and outlying reefs, included a complex of very small, slender individuals (length < 5 mm). This complex resolved into 7 new species, described herein: Paleanotus inornatus n. sp., P. adornatus n. sp., P. chrysos n. sp., P. aquifolia n. sp., P. latifolia n. sp., P. silus n. sp., and P. silopsis n. sp. A key is provided to the new species and Paleanotus distinguished from Treptopale and Hyalopale, two closely related genera. Diagnostic features of the apical structure and shape of the notochaetal main paleae plus median paleae shape and raised rib pattern, differentiates each species from the other. Gametous states are described. Two cryptic species pairs (Paleanotus silopsis n. sp. and P. silus n. sp.; Paleanotus aquifolia n. sp. and P. latifolia n. sp.) were identified. In each case one species is restricted to either the NE or NW Australian coast. In each pair the most eastern point for the NW Australian species range occurs at Darwin, western Arnhemland, Northern Territory. Additional material for each species pair extends their respective ranges northwards: NW Australia to Thailand, Andaman Sea, eastern Indian Ocean or NE Australia, Great Barrier Reef to the Philippines, western Pacific Ocean. Cryptic morphology and potential genetic diversity is discussed in Paleanotus inornatus n. sp. and P. adornatus n. sp. that possess overlapping widespread distribution patterns across northern Australia and Indo-Pacific reefs. The smallest bodied taxon, Paleanotus chrysos n. sp. is the only species with a Coral Sea range encompassing Lizard Island, Heron Island and New Caledonia.

Radiogenic Isotopes As Paleoceanographic Tracers in Deep-Sea Corals: Advances in TIMS Measurements of Pb Isotopes and Application to Southern Ocean Corals

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, D. J.; van de Flierdt, T.; Bridgestock, L. J.; Paul, M.; Rehkamper, M.; Robinson, L. F.; Adkins, J. F.

2014-12-01

Deep-sea corals have emerged as a valuable archive of deep ocean paleoceanographic change, with uranium-series dating providing absolute ages and the potential for centennial resolution. In combination with measurements of radiocarbon, neodymium isotopes and clumped isotopes, this archive has recently been exploited to reconstruct changes in ventilation, water mass sourcing and temperature in relation to millennial climate change. Lead (Pb) isotopes in both corals and seawater have also been used to track anthropogenic inputs through space and time and to trace transport pathways within the oceans. Better understanding of the oceanic Pb cycle is emerging from the GEOTRACES programme. However, while Pb isotopes have been widely used in environmental studies, their full potential as a (pre-anthropogenic) paleoceanographic tracer remains to be exploited. In deep-sea corals, challenges exist from low Pb concentrations in aragonite in comparison to secondary coatings, the potential for contamination, and the efficient elemental separation required for measurement by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). Here we discuss progress in measuring Pb isotopes in coral aragonite using a 207Pb-204Pb double spike on a ThermoFinnigan Triton TIMS. For a 2 ng NIST-981 Pb standard, the long term reproducibility (using 1011 Ω resistors) is ~1000 ppm (2 s.d.) on 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios. We now show that using a new 1012 Ω resistor to measure the small 204Pb beam improves the internal precision on these ratios from ~500 ppm (2 s.e.) to ~250 ppm (2 s.e.) and we envisage a potential improvement in the long term reproducibility as a consequence. We further assess the internal precision and external reproducibility of our method using a BCR-2 rock standard and an in-house coral standard. Preliminary evidence on the application of this method to natural samples is derived from cleaning experiments and replication tests on deep-sea corals from the Southern

Ocean transport and variability studies of the South Pacific, Southern, and Indian Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Church, John A.; Cresswell, G. R.; Nilsson, C. S.; Mcdougall, T. J.; Coleman, R.; Rizos, C.; Penrose, J.; Hunter, J. R.; Lynch, M. J.

1991-01-01

The objectives of this study are to analyze ocean dynamics in the western South Pacific and the adjacent Southern Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. Specifically, our objectives for these three regions are, for the South Pacific Ocean: (1) To estimate the volume transport of the east Australian Current (EAC) along the Australian coast and in the Tasman Front, and to estimate the time variability (on seasonal and interannual time scales) of this transport. (2) To contribute to estimating the meridional heat and freshwater fluxes (and their variability) at about 30 deg S. Good estimates of the transport in the western boundary current are essential for accurate estimates of these fluxes. (3) To determine how the EAC transport (and its extension, the Tasman Front and the East Auckland Current) closes the subtropical gyre of the South Pacific and to better determine the structure at the confluence of this current and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. (4) To examine the structure and time variability of the circulation in the western South Pacific and the adjacent Southern Ocean, particularly at the Tasman Front. For the Indian Ocean: (5) To study the seasonal interannual variations in the strength of the Leeuwin Current. (6) To monitor the Pacific-Indian Ocean throughflow and the South Equatorial and the South Java Currents between northwest Australia and Indonesia. (7) To study the processes that form the water of the permanent oceanic thermocline and, in particular, the way in which new thermocline water enters the permanent thermocline in late winter and early spring as the mixed layer restratifies. For the Southern Ocean: (8) To study the mesoscale and meridional structure of the Southern Ocean between 150 deg E and 170 deg E; in particular, to describe the Antarctic frontal system south of Tasmania and determine its interannual variability; to estimate the exchanges of heat, salt, and other properties between the Indian and Pacific Oceans; and to investigate the

/sup 226/Ra in the western Indian Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Y.

1987-09-01

/sup 226/Ra profiles have been measured in the western Indian Ocean as part of the 1977-78 Indian Ocean GEOSECS program. These profiles show a general increase in deep and bottom water Ra concentration from the Circumpolar region to the Arabian Sea. A deep Ra maximum which originates in the Arabian Sea and in the Somali basin at about 3000 m depth spreads southward into the Mascarene basin and remains discernible in the Madagascar and Crozet basins. In the western Indian Ocean, the cold Antarctic Bottom Water spreads northward under the possibly southward-flowing deep water, forming a clear benthic front along the Crozet basin across the Southwest Indian Ridge into the Madagascar and Mascarene basins. The Antarctic Bottom Water continues to spread farther north to the Somali basin through the Amirante Passage at 10/sup 0/S as a western boundary current. The benthic front and other characteristic features in the western Indian Ocean are quite similar to those observed in the western Pacific where the benthic front as a distinctive feature was first described by Craig et al. Across the Mid-Indian Ridge toward the Ceylon abyssal plain near the triple junction, Ra profiles display a layered structure, reflecting the topographic effect of the mid-ocean ridge system on the mixing and circulation of the deep and bottom waters. Both Ra and Si show a deep maximum north of the Madagascar Basin. Linear relationships between these two elements are observed in the deep and bottom water with slopes increasing northward. This suggests a preferential input of Ra over Si from the bottom sediments of the Arabian Sea and also from the flank sediments of the Somali basin.

Calcification persists with CO2-induced ocean acidification but decreases with warming for the Caribbean coral Siderastrea siderea

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, K. D.; Ries, J. B.; Westfield, I. T.; Weiss, J. M.; Bruno, J. F.

2012-12-01

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) induced ocean acidification and rising seawater temperatures are identified as two of the greatest threats to modern coral reefs. Within this century, surface seawater pH is expected to decrease by at least 0.3 units, and sea surface temperature is predicted to rise by 1 to 3 °C. However, uncertainty remains as to whether ocean acidification or ocean warming will have a more deleterious impact on coral reefs by the end of the century. Here, we present results of 95-day laboratory experiments in which we investigated the impact of CO2-induced ocean acidification and temperature on the calcification rate of the tropical reef-building zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea. We found that calcification rates for S. siderea, estimated from buoyant weighing, increased as pCO2 increased from a pre-industrial value of 324 ppm to a near-present-day value of 477 ppm, remained unchanged as pCO2 increased from 477 ppm to the predicted end-of-century value of 604 ppm, and only declined at 6-times the modern pCO2 value of 2553 ppm. Corals reared at average pCO2 of 488 ppm and at temperatures of 25 and 32 °C, approximately the lower and upper temperature extremes for this species, calcified at lower rates relative to corals reared at 28 °C under equivalent pCO2. These results support the existing evidence that scleractinian corals such as S. siderea are able to manipulate the carbonate chemistry at their calcification site, enabling them to maintain their calcification rates under elevated pCO2 levels predicted for the end of this century. However, exposure of S. siderea corals to sea surface temperatures predicted for tropical waters for the end of this century grossly impaired their rate of calcification. These findings suggest that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat to the coral S. siderea than does ocean acidification, at least under scenarios (B1, A1T, and B2) predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

WATER TEMPERATURE and other data from DERWENT, HOBART and other platforms in the Coral Sea, Tasman Sea and other waters from 1984-09-02 to 1993-01-31 (NODC Accession 9300047)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The water depth and temperature data was collected in Coral Sea, Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Tasman Sea from multiple Australian and New Zealand ships by...

Madagascar corals reveal a multidecadal signature of rainfall and river runoff since 1708

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. A. Grove

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures (SST influence rainfall variability on multidecadal and interdecadal timescales in concert with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO. Rainfall variations in locations such as Australia and North America are therefore linked to phase changes in the PDO. Furthermore, studies have suggested teleconnections exist between the western Indian Ocean and Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV, similar to those observed on interannual timescales related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO. However, as instrumental records of rainfall are too short and sparse to confidently assess multidecadal climatic teleconnections, here we present four coral climate archives from Madagascar spanning up to the past 300 yr (1708–2008 to assess such decadal variability. Using spectral luminescence scanning to reconstruct past changes in river runoff, we identify significant multidecadal and interdecadal frequencies in the coral records, which before 1900 are coherent with Asian-based PDO reconstructions. This multidecadal relationship with the Asian-based PDO reconstructions points to an unidentified teleconnection mechanism that affects Madagascar rainfall/runoff, most likely triggered by multidecadal changes in North Pacific SST, influencing the Asian Monsoon circulation. In the 20th century we decouple human deforestation effects from rainfall-induced soil erosion by pairing luminescence with coral geochemistry. Positive PDO phases are associated with increased Indian Ocean temperatures and runoff/rainfall in eastern Madagascar, while precipitation in southern Africa and eastern Australia declines. Consequently, the negative PDO phase that started in 1998 may contribute to reduced rainfall over eastern Madagascar and increased precipitation in southern Africa and eastern Australia. We conclude that multidecadal rainfall variability in Madagascar and the western Indian Ocean needs to be

Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño/Southern Oscillation impacts on regional chlorophyll anomalies in the Indian Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. Currie

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO are independent climate modes, which frequently co-occur, driving significant interannual changes within the Indian Ocean. We use a four-decade hindcast from a coupled biophysical ocean general circulation model, to disentangle patterns of chlorophyll anomalies driven by these two climate modes. Comparisons with remotely sensed records show that the simulation competently reproduces the chlorophyll seasonal cycle, as well as open-ocean anomalies during the 1997/1998 ENSO and IOD event. Results suggest that anomalous surface and euphotic-layer chlorophyll blooms in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean in fall, and southern Bay of Bengal in winter, are primarily related to IOD forcing. A negative influence of IOD on chlorophyll concentrations is shown in a region around the southern tip of India in fall. IOD also depresses depth-integrated chlorophyll in the 5–10° S thermocline ridge region, yet the signal is negligible in surface chlorophyll. The only investigated region where ENSO has a greater influence on chlorophyll than does IOD, is in the Somalia upwelling region, where it causes a decrease in fall and winter chlorophyll by reducing local upwelling winds. Yet unlike most other regions examined, the combined explanatory power of IOD and ENSO in predicting depth-integrated chlorophyll anomalies is relatively low in this region, suggestive that other drivers are important there. We show that the chlorophyll impact of climate indices is frequently asymmetric, with a general tendency for larger positive than negative chlorophyll anomalies. Our results suggest that ENSO and IOD cause significant and predictable regional re-organisation of chlorophyll via their influence on near-surface oceanography. Resolving the details of these effects should improve our understanding, and eventually gain predictability, of interannual changes in Indian Ocean productivity, fisheries

Bio-physical coupling and ocean dynamics in the central equatorial Indian Ocean during 2006 Indian Ocean Dipole

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; David, T.D.; Byju, P.; Narvekar, J.; Yoneyama, K.; Nakatani, N.; Ishida, A.; Horii, T.; Masumoto, Y.; Mizuno, K.

an observational campaign MISMO (MIRAI Indian Ocean Cruise for the study of the MJO convection Onset) was conducted at equator and 80.5 0 E from Japanese research ship R/V Mirai during late October through November, 2006 when the onset in MJO convection is often...

Coral bleaching and ocean ''hot spots''

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goreau, T.J. (Global Coral Reef Alliance, Chappaqua, NY (United States)); Hayes, R.L. (Howard Univ., Washington, DC (United States). College of Medicine)

1994-05-01

Global sea-surface temperature maps show that mass coral-reef bleaching episodes between 1983 and 1991 followed positive anomalies more than 1 deg C above long-term monthly averages (''hot spots'') during the preceding warm season. Irregular formation, movement, and disappearance of hot spots make their detailed long-term prediction impossible, but they can be tracked in real time from satellite data. Monitoring of ocean hot spots and of coral bleaching is needed if the Framework Convention of Climate Change is to meet its goal of protecting the most temperature sensitive ecosystems. 47 refs, 3 figs

Water column productivity and temperature predict coral reef regeneration across the Indo-Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Riegl, B; Glynn, P W; Wieters, E; Purkis, S; d'Angelo, C; Wiedenmann, J

2015-02-05

Predicted increases in seawater temperatures accelerate coral reef decline due to mortality by heat-driven coral bleaching. Alteration of the natural nutrient environment of reef corals reduces tolerance of corals to heat and light stress and thus will exacerbate impacts of global warming on reefs. Still, many reefs demonstrate remarkable regeneration from past stress events. This paper investigates the effects of sea surface temperature (SST) and water column productivity on recovery of coral reefs. In 71 Indo-Pacific sites, coral cover changes over the past 1-3 decades correlated negative-exponentially with mean SST, chlorophyll a, and SST rise. At six monitoring sites (Persian/Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, northern and southern Galápagos, Easter Island, Panama), over half of all corals were <31 years, implying that measured environmental variables indeed shaped populations and community. An Indo-Pacific-wide model suggests reefs in the northwest and central Indian Ocean, as well as the central west Pacific, are at highest risk of degradation, and those at high latitudes the least. The model pinpoints regions where coral reefs presently have the best chances for survival. However, reefs best buffered against temperature and nutrient effects are those that current studies suggest to be most at peril from future ocean acidification.

Reconstructing surface ocean circulation with 129I time series records from corals.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ching-Chih; Burr, George S; Jull, A J Timothy; Russell, Joellen L; Biddulph, Dana; White, Lara; Prouty, Nancy G; Chen, Yue-Gau; Shen, Chuan-Chou; Zhou, Weijian; Lam, Doan Dinh

2016-12-01

The long-lived radionuclide 129 I (half-life: 15.7 × 10 6  yr) is well-known as a useful environmental tracer. At present, the global 129 I in surface water is about 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than pre-1960 levels. Since the 1990s, anthropogenic 129 I produced from industrial nuclear fuels reprocessing plants has been the primary source of 129 I in marine surface waters of the Atlantic and around the globe. Here we present four coral 129 I time series records from: 1) Con Dao and 2) Xisha Islands, the South China Sea, 3) Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and 4) Guam. The Con Dao coral 129 I record features a sudden increase in 129 I in 1959. The Xisha coral shows similar peak values for 129 I as the Con Dao coral, punctuated by distinct low values, likely due to the upwelling in the central South China Sea. The Rabaul coral features much more gradual 129 I increases in the 1970s, similar to a published record from the Solomon Islands. The Guam coral 129 I record contains the largest measured values for any site, with two large peaks, in 1955 and 1959. Nuclear weapons testing was the primary 129 I source in the Western Pacific in the latter part of the 20th Century, notably from testing in the Marshall Islands. The Guam 1955 peak and Con Dao 1959 increases are likely from the 1954 Castle Bravo test, and the Operation Hardtack I test is the most likely source of the 1959 peak observed at Guam. Radiogenic iodine found in coral was carried primarily through surface ocean currents. The coral 129 I time series data provide a broad picture of the surface distribution and depth penetration of 129 I in the Pacific Ocean over the past 60 years. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ocean acidification compromises recruitment success of the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora palmata.

Science.gov (United States)

Albright, Rebecca; Mason, Benjamin; Miller, Margaret; Langdon, Chris

2010-11-23

Ocean acidification (OA) refers to the ongoing decline in oceanic pH resulting from the uptake of atmospheric CO(2). Mounting experimental evidence suggests that OA will have negative consequences for a variety of marine organisms. Whereas the effect of OA on the calcification of adult reef corals is increasingly well documented, effects on early life history stages are largely unknown. Coral recruitment, which necessitates successful fertilization, larval settlement, and postsettlement growth and survivorship, is critical to the persistence and resilience of coral reefs. To determine whether OA threatens successful sexual recruitment of reef-building corals, we tested fertilization, settlement, and postsettlement growth of Acropora palmata at pCO(2) levels that represent average ambient conditions during coral spawning (∼400 μatm) and the range of pCO(2) increases that are expected to occur in this century [∼560 μatm (mid-CO(2)) and ∼800 μatm (high-CO(2))]. Fertilization, settlement, and growth were all negatively impacted by increasing pCO(2), and impairment of fertilization was exacerbated at lower sperm concentrations. The cumulative impact of OA on fertilization and settlement success is an estimated 52% and 73% reduction in the number of larval settlers on the reef under pCO(2) conditions projected for the middle and the end of this century, respectively. Additional declines of 39% (mid-CO(2)) and 50% (high-CO(2)) were observed in postsettlement linear extension rates relative to controls. These results suggest that OA has the potential to impact multiple, sequential early life history stages, thereby severely compromising sexual recruitment and the ability of coral reefs to recover from disturbance.

Drift pumice in the Indian and South Atlantic oceans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frick, C.; Kent, L.E.

1984-01-01

Sixty-three samples of drift pumice, collected at the coasts of South Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Cocos Islands, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Marion Island and Bouvet Island, were investigated petrographically and geochemically with a view to establishing the possible source areas. Geochemically five distinct groups could be distinguished and some could be liked to specific eruptions in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Group A pumice originated from a submarine eruption off Zavodovski Island in the South Sandwich Island Group in 1962. The pumice in Group B occurs mainly on the beaches bordering the Atlantic Ocean, and was found on the west coast of South Africa, on the sea floor south-west of South Africa, and in Brazil. The source of this group is unknown, but all the evidence indicates that it must have been from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the South Atlantic Ocean. The Group C pumice was found in the southern Indian Ocean, probably from the Mid-Indian Ridge. The fourth group originated from a submarine eruption along the Tonga Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Group E, which is by far the most homogeneous, includes samples from Australia, the Indian Ocean islands, East and South Africa and samples of the undisputed Krakatoan origin. Specimens from the Krakatoan eruption are still the most abundant type of drift pumice that can be found

Coral Cores for selected locations in the Pacific Ocean obtained to determine calcification and extension rates of Porites spp. corals

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Laboratory experiments reveal calcification and extension rates of corals are strongly correlated to seawater aragonite saturation state. Predictions of reduced...

Multi-scale ocean and climate drivers of widespread bleaching in the Coral Triangle

Science.gov (United States)

Drenkard, E.; Curchitser, E. N.; Kleypas, J. A.; Castruccio, F. S.

2016-12-01

The Maritime Continent is home to the Coral Triangle (CT): the global pinnacle of tropical coral biodiversity. Historically, extensive bleaching-induced mortality (caused by thermal stress) among corals in the CT has been associated with extremes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), particularly years when a strong El Niños transitions to a La Niña state (i.e., 1998 and 2010). Similarities in the spatial distribution of satellite-derived indices, and the multi-scale environmental drivers of elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during the 1998 and 2010 bleaching events suggests a potential predictability that has important implications for reef conservation. Using numerical models and ocean and atmosphere reanalysis products, we discuss the roles of ENSO-associated anomalies in both large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns (e.g., South Asian Monsoon) and regional ocean-cooling mechanisms such as coastal upwelling, tropical storm activity, and divergent (i.e., upwelling) circulation patterns (e.g., the Mindanao Eddy) in determining SSTs and, consequently projected patterns of reef ecosystem vulnerability to thermal stress. Conditions associated with the recent and ongoing 2015/2016 coral bleaching and mortality will be compared/contrasted.

Transcriptomic Changes in Coral Holobionts Provide Insights into Physiological Challenges of Future Climate and Ocean Change.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Kaniewska

Full Text Available Tropical reef-building coral stress levels will intensify with the predicted rising atmospheric CO2 resulting in ocean temperature and acidification increase. Most studies to date have focused on the destabilization of coral-dinoflagellate symbioses due to warming oceans, or declining calcification due to ocean acidification. In our study, pH and temperature conditions consistent with the end-of-century scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC caused major changes in photosynthesis and respiration, in addition to decreased calcification rates in the coral Acropora millepora. Population density of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium under high levels of ocean acidification and temperature (Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP8.5 decreased to half of that found under present day conditions, with photosynthetic and respiratory rates also being reduced by 40%. These physiological changes were accompanied by evidence for gene regulation of calcium and bicarbonate transporters along with components of the organic matrix. Metatranscriptomic RNA-Seq data analyses showed an overall down regulation of metabolic transcripts, and an increased abundance of transcripts involved in circadian clock control, controlling the damage of oxidative stress, calcium signaling/homeostasis, cytoskeletal interactions, transcription regulation, DNA repair, Wnt signaling and apoptosis/immunity/ toxins. We suggest that increased maintenance costs under ocean acidification and warming, and diversion of cellular ATP to pH homeostasis, oxidative stress response, UPR and DNA repair, along with metabolic suppression, may underpin why Acroporid species tend not to thrive under future environmental stress. Our study highlights the potential increased energy demand when the coral holobiont is exposed to high levels of ocean warming and acidification.

Transcriptomic Changes in Coral Holobionts Provide Insights into Physiological Challenges of Future Climate and Ocean Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaniewska, Paulina; Chan, Chon-Kit Kenneth; Kline, David; Ling, Edmund Yew Siang; Rosic, Nedeljka; Edwards, David; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove; Dove, Sophie

2015-01-01

Tropical reef-building coral stress levels will intensify with the predicted rising atmospheric CO2 resulting in ocean temperature and acidification increase. Most studies to date have focused on the destabilization of coral-dinoflagellate symbioses due to warming oceans, or declining calcification due to ocean acidification. In our study, pH and temperature conditions consistent with the end-of-century scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) caused major changes in photosynthesis and respiration, in addition to decreased calcification rates in the coral Acropora millepora. Population density of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium) under high levels of ocean acidification and temperature (Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP8.5) decreased to half of that found under present day conditions, with photosynthetic and respiratory rates also being reduced by 40%. These physiological changes were accompanied by evidence for gene regulation of calcium and bicarbonate transporters along with components of the organic matrix. Metatranscriptomic RNA-Seq data analyses showed an overall down regulation of metabolic transcripts, and an increased abundance of transcripts involved in circadian clock control, controlling the damage of oxidative stress, calcium signaling/homeostasis, cytoskeletal interactions, transcription regulation, DNA repair, Wnt signaling and apoptosis/immunity/ toxins. We suggest that increased maintenance costs under ocean acidification and warming, and diversion of cellular ATP to pH homeostasis, oxidative stress response, UPR and DNA repair, along with metabolic suppression, may underpin why Acroporid species tend not to thrive under future environmental stress. Our study highlights the potential increased energy demand when the coral holobiont is exposed to high levels of ocean warming and acidification.

Atlantic and indian oceans pollution in africa

Science.gov (United States)

Abubakar, Babagana

Africa is the second largest and most populated continent after Asia. Geographically it is located between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Most of the Africa's most populated and industrialized cities are located along the coast of the continent facing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, example of such cities include Casablanca, Dakar, Accra, Lagos, Luanda and Cape town all facing the Atlantic Ocean and cities like East London, Durban, Maputo, Dar-es-salaam and Mogadishu are all facing the Indian Ocean. As a result of the geographical locations of African Coastal Cities plus increase in their population, industries, sea port operations, petroleum exploration activities, trafficking of toxic wastes and improper waste management culture lead to the incessant increase in the pollution of the two oceans. NATURE OF POLLUTION OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN i. The petroleum exploration activities going on along the coast of "Gulf of Guinea" region and Angola continuously causes oil spillages in the process of drilling, bunkering and discharging of petroleum products in the Atlantic Ocean. ii. The incessant degreasing of the Sea Ports "Quay Aprons" along the Coastal cities of Lagos, Luanda, Cape Town etc are continuously polluting the Atlantic Ocean with chemicals. iii. Local wastes generated from the houses located in the coastal cities are always finding their ways into the Atlantic Ocean. NATURE OF POLLUTION OF THE INDIAN OCEAN i. Unlike the Atlantic ocean where petroleum is the major pollutant, the Indian Ocean is polluted by Toxic / Radioactive waste suspected to have been coming from the developed nations as reported by the United Nations Environmental Programme after the Tsunami disaster in December 2004 especially along the coast of Somalia. ii. The degreasing of the Quay Aprons at Port Elizabeth, Maputo, Dar-es-Salaam and Mongolism Sea Ports are also another major source polluting the Indian Ocean. PROBLEMS GENERATED AS A RESULT OF THE OCEANS POLLUTION i. Recent report

Coral resistance to ocean acidification linked to increased calcium at the site of calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

DeCarlo, T M; Comeau, S; Cornwall, C E; McCulloch, M T

2018-05-16

Ocean acidification threatens the persistence of biogenic calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) production on coral reefs. However, some coral genera show resistance to declines in seawater pH, potentially achieved by modulating the chemistry of the fluid where calcification occurs. We use two novel geochemical techniques based on boron systematics and Raman spectroscopy, which together provide the first constraints on the sensitivity of coral calcifying fluid calcium concentrations ([Formula: see text]) to changing seawater pH. In response to simulated end-of-century pH conditions, Pocillopora damicornis increased [Formula: see text] to as much as 25% above that of seawater and maintained constant calcification rates. Conversely, Acropora youngei displayed less control over [Formula: see text], and its calcification rates strongly declined at lower seawater pH. Although the role of [Formula: see text] in driving calcification has often been neglected, increasing [Formula: see text] may be a key mechanism enabling more resistant corals to cope with ocean acidification and continue to build CaCO 3 skeletons in a high-CO 2 world. © 2018 The Author(s).

Oceanography of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, B.N.

This volume is an outcome of the presentation of selected 74 papers at the International Symposium on the Oceanography of the Indian Ocean held at National Institute of Oceanography during January 1991. The unique physical setting of the northern...

Measurements within the Pacific-Indian oceans throughflow region

Science.gov (United States)

Fieux, M.; Andrié, C.; Delecluse, P.; Ilahude, A. G.; Kartavtseff, A.; Mantisi, F.; Molcard, R.; Swallow, J. C.

1994-07-01

Two hydrographic (θ, S, O 2) and trichlorofluoromethane (F-11) sections were carried out between the Australian continental shelf and Indonesia, in August 1989, on board the R.V. Marion Dufresne. The sections lie in the easternmost part of the Indian Ocean where the throughflow between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean emerges. They allow us to describe the features of the water-property and circulation fields of the throughflow at its entrance in the Indian Ocean. Between the Australian continental shelf and Bali, the Subtropical and Central waters are separated from the waters of the Indonesian seas by a sharp hydrological front, located around 13°30 S, below the thermocline down to 700 m. Near the coast of Bali, upwelling occurs in the near-surface layer under the effect of the southeast monsoon; at depth, between 300 m to more than 800 m, a water mass of northern Indian Ocean origin was present. From the characteristics of the bottom water found in the Lombok basin, the maximum depth of the Java ridge which separates the Lombok basin from the Northwest Australian basin lies around 3650 m. Off Sumba, Savu, Roti and Timor channels a core of low salinity and high oxygen content near-surface water was found in the axis of each channel, which suggests strong currents from the interior Indonesian seas towards the Indian Ocean. The entrance of the deep water flowing in the opposite direction, from the Indian Ocean to the Timor basin, was marked below 1400 m to the sill depth, through an increase of salinity and oxygen content. The flow reversal, observed briefly by a Pegasus direct current profiler in the Timor strait, was located at 1200 m depth. During the southeast monsoon, the net (geostrophic + Ekman) transport calculated on the section Australia-Bali give an estimate of the throughflow between 0 and 500 m of 22 ± 4 × 10 6 m 3 s -1 towards the Indian Ocean, with a concentration of the transport in the upper layers (19 × 10 6 m 3 s -1 in 0-200 m) and

Coastal biogeochemical processes in the north Indian Ocean (14, S-W)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.; Narvekar, P.V.; Desa, E.

of the region are also shown with the numbers denoting the annual runoff in 10" m3. Due to the proximity to landmasses, the North Indian Ocean is probably af- fected by processes originating at the land-ocean boundary more than any other region. Lndeed... IN TIiE NORTH INDIAN OCEAN tion of contributions by the Indian oceanographic community, most of this infor- mation has been generated by scientists from countries outside this region under international efforts that started with the John Murray...

Pelagic ecology of the South West Indian Ocean Ridge seamounts: Introduction and overview

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, A. D.

2017-02-01

The Indian Ocean was described by Behrman (1981) as the "Forlorn Ocean", a region neglected by science up to the late-1950s. For example, the Challenger Expedition from 1872 to 1876 largely avoided the Indian Ocean, sailing from Cape Town into Antarctic waters sampling around the Prince Edward Islands, Kerguelen Island and Crozet Islands before heading to Melbourne. From 1876 to the 1950s there were expeditions on several vessels including the Valdivia, Gauss and Planet (Germany), the Snellius (Netherlands), Discovery II, MahaBiss (United Kingdom), Albatross (Sweden), Dana and Galathea (Denmark; Behrman, 1981). There was no coordination between these efforts and overall the Indian Ocean, especially the deep sea remained perhaps the most poorly explored of the world's oceans. This situation was largely behind the multilateral effort represented by the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIEO), which was coordinated by the Scientific Committee for Ocean Research (SCOR), and which ran from 1959-1965. Work during this expedition focused on the Arabian Sea, the area to the northwest of Australia and the waters over the continental shelves and slopes of coastal states in the region. Subsequently several large-scale international oceanographic programmes have included significant components in the Indian Ocean, including the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). These studies were focused on physical oceanographic measurements and biogeochemistry and whilst the Indian Ocean is still less understood than other large oceans it is now integrated into the major ocean observation systems (Talley et al., 2011). This cannot be said for many aspects of the biology of the region, despite the fact that the Indian Ocean is one of the places where exploitation of marine living resources is still growing (FAO, 2016). The biology of the deep Indian Ocean outside of the Arabian Sea is particularly poorly understood given the presence

Risks to coral reefs from ocean carbonate chemistry changes in recent earth system model projections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricke, K L; Caldeira, K; Orr, J C; Schneider, K

2013-01-01

Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Today they are threatened by numerous stressors, including warming ocean waters and coastal pollution. Here we focus on the implications of ocean acidification for the open ocean chemistry surrounding coral reefs, as estimated from earth system models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5 (CMIP5). We project risks to reefs in the context of three potential aragonite saturation (Ωa) thresholds. We find that in preindustrial times, 99.9% of reefs adjacent to open ocean in the CMIP5 ensemble were located in regions with Ωa > 3.5. Under a business-as-usual scenario (RCP 8.5), every coral reef considered will be surrounded by water with Ωa 2 emissions abatement, the Ωa threshold for reefs is critical to projecting their fate. Our results indicate that to maintain a majority of reefs surrounded by waters with Ωa > 3.5 to the end of the century, very aggressive reductions in emissions are required. The spread of Ωa projections across models in the CMIP5 ensemble is narrow, justifying a high level of confidence in these results. (letter)

West Nile virus infection in horses, Indian ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardinale, E; Bernard, C; Lecollinet, S; Rakotoharinome, V M; Ravaomanana, J; Roger, M; Olive, M M; Meenowa, D; Jaumally, M R; Melanie, J; Héraud, J M; Zientara, S; Cêtre-Sossah, C

2017-08-01

The circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) in horses was investigated in the Southwest Indian ocean. In 2010, blood samples were collected from a total of 303 horses originating from Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles and tested for WNV-specific antibodies. An overall seroprevalence of 27.39% was detected in the Indian Ocean with the highest WNV antibody prevalence of 46.22% (95% CI: [37.4-55.2%]) in Madagascar. The age and origin of the horses were found to be associated with the WNV infection risk. This paper presents the first seroprevalence study investigating WN fever in horses in the Southwest Indian Ocean area and indicates a potential risk of infection for humans and animals. In order to gain a better understanding of WN transmission cycles, WNV surveillance needs to be implemented in each of the countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Southern Ocean Circulation: a High Resolution Examination of the Last Deglaciation from Deep-Sea Corals

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, L. F.; Li, T.; Chen, T.; Burke, A.; Pegrum Haram, A.; Stewart, J.; Rae, J. W. B.; van de Flierdt, T.; Struve, T.; Wilson, D. J.

2017-12-01

Two decades ago it was first noted that the skeletal remains of deep-sea corals had the potential to provide absolutely dated archives of past ocean conditions. In the intervening twenty years this field has developed to the point where strategic collections and high throughput dating techniques now allow high resolution, well dated records of past deep sea behaviour to be produced. Likewise, efforts to improve understanding of biomineralisation and growth rates are leading to refinements in proxy tools useful for examining circulation, nutrient and carbon cycling, temperature and weathering processes. Deep-sea corals are particularly valuable archives in high latitude regions where radiocarbon-based age models are susceptible to large changes in surface reservoir ages. In this presentation we show new high resolution multiproxy records of the Southern Ocean (Drake Passage) made on U-Th dated corals spanning the last glacial cycle. With more than seventeen hundred reconnaissance ages, and around 200 precise isotope dilution U-Th ages, subtle changes in ocean behaviour can be identified during times of abrupt climate change. The geochemical signature of corals from the deepest sites, closest to modern day Lower Circumpolar Deep Waters, typically show a gradual shift from glacial to Holocene values during deglaciation, likely related to ventilation of the deep ocean. By contrast for the samples collected shallower in the water column (within sites currently bathed by Upper Circumpolar Deep Waters and Antarctic Intermediate and Mode Waters) the evidence points to a more complicated picture. Vertical zonation in the geochemical data suggests that periods of stratification are interspersed with mixing events within the upper 1500m of the water column. At the same time comparison to U-Th dated records from the low latitude Pacific and Atlantic points to an important role for the Southern Ocean in feeding the intermediate waters of both ocean basins throughout the

Upper ocean physical processes in the Tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, L.V.G.; Ram, P.S.

This monograph is the outcome of an attempt by the authors to present a synthesis of the studies on physical processes in the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) in relation to air-sea interaction, monsoon/climate variability and biological productivity...

Reef-scale modeling of coral calcification responses to ocean acidification and sea-level rise

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Takashi; Nadaoka, Kazuo; Watanabe, Atsushi; Yamamoto, Takahiro; Miyajima, Toshihiro; Blanco, Ariel C.

2018-03-01

To predict coral responses to future environmental changes at the reef scale, the coral polyp model (Nakamura et al. in Coral Reefs 32:779-794, 2013), which reconstructs coral responses to ocean acidification, flow conditions and other factors, was incorporated into a reef-scale three-dimensional hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model. This coupled reef-scale model was compared to observations from the Shiraho fringing reef, Ishigaki Island, Japan, where the model accurately reconstructed spatiotemporal variation in reef hydrodynamic and geochemical parameters. The simulated coral calcification rate exhibited high spatial variation, with lower calcification rates in the nearshore and stagnant water areas due to isolation of the inner reef at low tide, and higher rates on the offshore side of the inner reef flat. When water is stagnant, bottom shear stress is low at night and thus oxygen diffusion rate from ambient water to the inside of the coral polyp limits respiration rate. Thus, calcification decreases because of the link between respiration and calcification. A scenario analysis was conducted using the reef-scale model with several pCO2 and sea-level conditions based on IPCC (Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013) scenarios. The simulation indicated that the coral calcification rate decreases with increasing pCO2. On the other hand, sea-level rise increases the calcification rate, particularly in the nearshore and the areas where water is stagnant at low tide under present conditions, as mass exchange, especially oxygen exchange at night, is enhanced between the corals and their ambient seawater due to the reduced stagnant period. When both pCO2 increase and sea-level rise occur concurrently, the calcification rate generally decreases due to the effects of ocean acidification. However, the

Global gradients of coral exposure to environmental stresses and implications for local management.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Maina

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The decline of coral reefs globally underscores the need for a spatial assessment of their exposure to multiple environmental stressors to estimate vulnerability and evaluate potential counter-measures. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study combined global spatial gradients of coral exposure to radiation stress factors (temperature, UV light and doldrums, stress-reinforcing factors (sedimentation and eutrophication, and stress-reducing factors (temperature variability and tidal amplitude to produce a global map of coral exposure and identify areas where exposure depends on factors that can be locally managed. A systems analytical approach was used to define interactions between radiation stress variables, stress reinforcing variables and stress reducing variables. Fuzzy logic and spatial ordinations were employed to quantify coral exposure to these stressors. Globally, corals are exposed to radiation and reinforcing stress, albeit with high spatial variability within regions. Based on ordination of exposure grades, regions group into two clusters. The first cluster was composed of severely exposed regions with high radiation and low reducing stress scores (South East Asia, Micronesia, Eastern Pacific and the central Indian Ocean or alternatively high reinforcing stress scores (the Middle East and the Western Australia. The second cluster was composed of moderately to highly exposed regions with moderate to high scores in both radiation and reducing factors (Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef (GBR, Central Pacific, Polynesia and the western Indian Ocean where the GBR was strongly associated with reinforcing stress. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite radiation stress being the most dominant stressor, the exposure of coral reefs could be reduced by locally managing chronic human impacts that act to reinforce radiation stress. Future research and management efforts should focus on incorporating the factors that mitigate the effect of

Habitat Selectivity and Reliance on Live Corals for Indo-Pacific Hawkfishes (Family: Cirrhitidae)

KAUST Repository

Coker, Darren James; Hoey, Andrew S.; Wilson, Shaun K.; Depczynski, Martial; Graham, Nicholas A. J.; Hobbs, Jean-Paul A.; Holmes, Thomas H.; Pratchett, Morgan S.

2015-01-01

Hawkfishes (family: Cirrhitidae) are small conspicuous reef predators that commonly perch on, or shelter within, the branches of coral colonies. This study examined habitat associations of hawkfishes, and explicitly tested whether hawkfishes associate with specific types of live coral. Live coral use and habitat selectivity of hawkfishes was explored at six locations from Chagos in the central Indian Ocean extending east to Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 529 hawkfishes from seven species were recorded across all locations with 63% of individuals observed perching on, or sheltering within, live coral colonies. Five species (all except Cirrhitus pinnulatus and Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus) associated with live coral habitats. Cirrhitichthys falco selected for species of Pocillopora while Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri selected for both Pocillopora and Acropora, revealing that these habitats are used disproportionately more than expected based on the local cover of these coral genera. Habitat selection was consistent across geographic locations, and species of Pocillopora were the most frequently used and most consistently selected even though this coral genus never comprised more than 6% of the total coral cover at any of the locations. Across locations, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri were the most abundant species and variation in their abundance corresponded with local patterns of live coral cover and abundance of Pocilloporid corals, respectively. These findings demonstrate the link between small predatory fishes and live coral habitats adding to the growing body of literature highlighting that live corals (especially erect branching corals) are critically important for sustaining high abundance and diversity of fishes on coral reefs.

Habitat Selectivity and Reliance on Live Corals for Indo-Pacific Hawkfishes (Family: Cirrhitidae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darren J Coker

Full Text Available Hawkfishes (family: Cirrhitidae are small conspicuous reef predators that commonly perch on, or shelter within, the branches of coral colonies. This study examined habitat associations of hawkfishes, and explicitly tested whether hawkfishes associate with specific types of live coral. Live coral use and habitat selectivity of hawkfishes was explored at six locations from Chagos in the central Indian Ocean extending east to Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 529 hawkfishes from seven species were recorded across all locations with 63% of individuals observed perching on, or sheltering within, live coral colonies. Five species (all except Cirrhitus pinnulatus and Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus associated with live coral habitats. Cirrhitichthys falco selected for species of Pocillopora while Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri selected for both Pocillopora and Acropora, revealing that these habitats are used disproportionately more than expected based on the local cover of these coral genera. Habitat selection was consistent across geographic locations, and species of Pocillopora were the most frequently used and most consistently selected even though this coral genus never comprised more than 6% of the total coral cover at any of the locations. Across locations, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri were the most abundant species and variation in their abundance corresponded with local patterns of live coral cover and abundance of Pocilloporid corals, respectively. These findings demonstrate the link between small predatory fishes and live coral habitats adding to the growing body of literature highlighting that live corals (especially erect branching corals are critically important for sustaining high abundance and diversity of fishes on coral reefs.

Habitat Selectivity and Reliance on Live Corals for Indo-Pacific Hawkfishes (Family: Cirrhitidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Coker, Darren J; Hoey, Andrew S; Wilson, Shaun K; Depczynski, Martial; Graham, Nicholas A J; Hobbs, Jean-Paul A; Holmes, Thomas H; Pratchett, Morgan S

2015-01-01

Hawkfishes (family: Cirrhitidae) are small conspicuous reef predators that commonly perch on, or shelter within, the branches of coral colonies. This study examined habitat associations of hawkfishes, and explicitly tested whether hawkfishes associate with specific types of live coral. Live coral use and habitat selectivity of hawkfishes was explored at six locations from Chagos in the central Indian Ocean extending east to Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 529 hawkfishes from seven species were recorded across all locations with 63% of individuals observed perching on, or sheltering within, live coral colonies. Five species (all except Cirrhitus pinnulatus and Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus) associated with live coral habitats. Cirrhitichthys falco selected for species of Pocillopora while Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri selected for both Pocillopora and Acropora, revealing that these habitats are used disproportionately more than expected based on the local cover of these coral genera. Habitat selection was consistent across geographic locations, and species of Pocillopora were the most frequently used and most consistently selected even though this coral genus never comprised more than 6% of the total coral cover at any of the locations. Across locations, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri were the most abundant species and variation in their abundance corresponded with local patterns of live coral cover and abundance of Pocilloporid corals, respectively. These findings demonstrate the link between small predatory fishes and live coral habitats adding to the growing body of literature highlighting that live corals (especially erect branching corals) are critically important for sustaining high abundance and diversity of fishes on coral reefs.

Habitat Selectivity and Reliance on Live Corals for Indo-Pacific Hawkfishes (Family: Cirrhitidae)

KAUST Repository

Coker, Darren James

2015-11-03

Hawkfishes (family: Cirrhitidae) are small conspicuous reef predators that commonly perch on, or shelter within, the branches of coral colonies. This study examined habitat associations of hawkfishes, and explicitly tested whether hawkfishes associate with specific types of live coral. Live coral use and habitat selectivity of hawkfishes was explored at six locations from Chagos in the central Indian Ocean extending east to Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 529 hawkfishes from seven species were recorded across all locations with 63% of individuals observed perching on, or sheltering within, live coral colonies. Five species (all except Cirrhitus pinnulatus and Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus) associated with live coral habitats. Cirrhitichthys falco selected for species of Pocillopora while Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri selected for both Pocillopora and Acropora, revealing that these habitats are used disproportionately more than expected based on the local cover of these coral genera. Habitat selection was consistent across geographic locations, and species of Pocillopora were the most frequently used and most consistently selected even though this coral genus never comprised more than 6% of the total coral cover at any of the locations. Across locations, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. forsteri were the most abundant species and variation in their abundance corresponded with local patterns of live coral cover and abundance of Pocilloporid corals, respectively. These findings demonstrate the link between small predatory fishes and live coral habitats adding to the growing body of literature highlighting that live corals (especially erect branching corals) are critically important for sustaining high abundance and diversity of fishes on coral reefs.

Bacterial profiling of White Plague Disease across corals and oceans indicates a conserved and distinct disease microbiome

KAUST Repository

Roder, C.

2014-01-29

Coral diseases are characterized by microbial community shifts in coral mucus and tissue, but causes and consequences of these changes are vaguely understood due to the complexity and dynamics of coral-associated bacteria. We used 16S rRNA gene microarrays to assay differences in bacterial assemblages of healthy and diseased colonies displaying White Plague Disease (WPD) signs from two closely related Caribbean coral species, Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi. Analysis of differentially abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) revealed strong differences between healthy and diseased specimens, but not between coral species. A subsequent comparison to data from two Indo-Pacific coral species (Pavona duerdeni and Porites lutea) revealed distinct microbial community patterns associated with ocean basin, coral species and health state. Coral species were clearly separated by site, but also, the relatedness of the underlying bacterial community structures resembled the phylogenetic relationship of the coral hosts. In diseased samples, bacterial richness increased and putatively opportunistic bacteria were consistently more abundant highlighting the role of opportunistic conditions in structuring microbial community patterns during disease. Our comparative analysis shows that it is possible to derive conserved bacterial footprints of diseased coral holobionts that might help in identifying key bacterial species related to the underlying etiopathology. Furthermore, our data demonstrate that similar-appearing disease phenotypes produce microbial community patterns that are consistent over coral species and oceans, irrespective of the putative underlying pathogen. Consequently, profiling coral diseases by microbial community structure over multiple coral species might allow the development of a comparative disease framework that can inform on cause and relatedness of coral diseases. 2013 The Authors Molecular Ecology John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Hoegh-Guldberg, O.; Mumby, P. J.; Hooten, A. J.; Steneck, R. S.; Greenfield, P.; Gomez, E.; Harvell, C. D.; Sale, P. F.; Edwards, A. J.; Caldeira, K.; Knowlton, N.; Eakin, C. M.; Iglesias-Prieto, R.; Muthiga, N.; Bradbury, R. H.; Dubi, A.; Hatziolos, M. E.

2007-12-01

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2°C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved. Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems. The result will be less diverse reef communities and carbonate reef structures that fail to be maintained. Climate change also exacerbates local stresses from declining water quality and overexploitation of key species, driving reefs increasingly toward the tipping point for functional collapse. This review presents future scenarios for coral reefs that predict increasingly serious consequences for reef-associated fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and people. As the International Year of the Reef 2008 begins, scaled-up management intervention and decisive action on global emissions are required if the loss of coral-dominated ecosystems is to be avoided.

STOMACH CONTENT OF THREE TUNA SPECIES IN THE EASTERN INDIAN OCEAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bram Setyadji

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Feeding habit of tuna in Indian Ocean has been described around Sri Lanka, Indian Waters, Andaman Sea, western Indian Ocean (Seychelles Islands, western equatorial Indian Ocean whereas the tunas feeding habit study in Eastern Indian Oceanis merely in existence. The purpose of this study is to investigate the stomach content of three tuna species (bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, and skipjack tuna, apex predator in the southern part of Eastern Indian Ocean. The study was conducted in March – April, 2010 on the basis of catches of commercial tuna longline vessel based in Port of Benoa. A total of 53 individual fishes were collected, consisting of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus, yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacores, and skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis. Stomach specimens were collected and analyzed.Analysis was conducted on the basis of index of preponderance method. The diet of the three tuna species showed fishes as the main diet (56–82%, followed by cephalopods (squids as the complementary diet (0–8%, and crustaceans (shrimps as the additional diet (2–4%. Fish prey composed of 6 families i.e. Alepisauridae, Bramidae, Carangidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae, and Scombridae.

Twin predecessor of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: Implications for rebuilt coastal communities

Science.gov (United States)

Sieh, K.; Daly, P.; McKinnon, E.; Chiang, H.; Pilarczyk, J.; Daryono, M. R.; Horton, B.; Shen, C.; Rubin, C. M.; Ismail, N.; Kelsey, H. M.

2013-12-01

We present stratigraphic, historical and archeological evidence for two closely timed predecessors of the giant 2004 tsunami on the northern coast of Aceh, northern Sumatra. Beachcliff exposures reveal two beds of tsunamigenic coral rubble within a small alluvial fan. Stratigraphical consistent radiocarbon and Uranium-Thorium disequilibrium dates indicate the the two beds were emplaced in the mid- to late 14th century, correlative with paleoseismic evidence of sudden uplifts of coral reefs on nearby Simeulue island in AD 1394 and, again in AD 1450. A nearby seacliff exposure contains evidence of nearly continuous settlement from ~AD 1240 to 1367, followed by tsunami destruction. Evidence of continuous settlement included South Asian ceramic and stoneware fragments, as well as a single Chinese coin dating to AD 1111-1118. Our data may solve the mysterious 15th century discontinuity in cultures along the northern Sumatran coast of the maritime silk route. This history of a doublet tsunami has implications for communities around the Indian Ocean that were rebuilt after the devastation of 2004, since reconstruction occurred with the tacit belief that such an event would not happen in the foreseeable future. History, geology and archeology hint that such a view may prove tragically incorrect.

Ocean sea-ice modelling in the Southern Ocean around Indian

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

An eddy-resolving coupled ocean sea-ice modelling is carried out in the Southern Ocean region (9∘–78∘E; 51∘–71∘S) using the MITgcm. The model domain incorporates the Indian Antarctic stations, Maitri (11.7∘E; 70.7∘S) and Bharati (76.1∘E; 69.4∘S). The realistic simulation of the surface variables, namely, sea ...

Air-Sea Coupling Over The Equatorial Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gopika, N.

S, where thermocline domes, the ocean is tightly coupled to the atmosphere [Reverdin, 1987; Murtugudde and Busalacchi, 1999; Xie et al, 2002] and therefore expected to influence the regional climate variability. In recent years Saji et al. [1999] showed... the forcing- response pattern of the ocean-atmosphere as a coupled system. For example, the anomalous ocean-atmosphere coupled phenomena like Indian Ocean Dipole mode produces anomalous atmospheric and oceanic condition that influence regional climate...

Dynamics of large scale 3-dimensional circulation of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Swapna, P.

-diagnostic and prognostic modes. Such a model could identify both the local and remote forcing of the Indian Ocean circulation. The other objectives of the thesis are the following: (i) To study the steady state 3-dimensional circulation of Indian Ocean based on semi...

Seasonality in the relationship between El Nino and Indian Ocean dipole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roxy, Mathew [Centro-Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Centre for Climate Change Research, Pune (India); Gualdi, Silvio; Navarra, Antonio [Centro-Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna (Italy); Lee Drbohlav, Hae-Kyung [University of Hawaii at Manoa, International Pacific Research Center, Honolulu, HI (United States)

2011-07-15

The seasonal change in the relationship between El Nino and Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) is examined using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40), and the twentieth century simulations (20c3m) from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Coupled Model, version 2.1. It is found that, both in ERA-40 and the model simulations, the correlation between El Nino (Nino3 index) and the eastern part of the IOD (90-110 E; 10 S-equator) is predominantly positive from January to June, and then changes to negative from July to December. Correlation maps of atmospheric and oceanic variables with respect to the Nino3 index are constructed for each season in order to examine the spatial structure of their seasonal response to El Nino. The occurrence of El Nino conditions during January to March induces low-level anti-cyclonic circulation anomalies over the southeastern Indian Ocean, which counteracts the climatological cyclonic circulation in that region. As a result, evaporation decreases and the southeastern Indian Ocean warms up as the El Nino proceeds, and weaken the development of a positive phase of an IOD. This warming of the southeastern Indian Ocean associated with the El Nino does not exist past June because the climatological winds there develop into the monsoon-type flow, enhancing the anomalous circulation over the region. Furthermore, the development of El Nino from July to September induces upwelling in the southeastern Indian Ocean, thereby contributing to further cooling of the region during the summer season. This results in the enhancement of a positive phase of an IOD. Once the climatological circulation shifts from the boreal summer to winter mode, the negative correlation between El Nino and SST of the southeastern Indian Ocean changes back to a positive one. (orig.)

Human activity selectively impacts the ecosystem roles of parrotfishes on coral reefs

KAUST Repository

Bellwood, David R.

2011-11-16

Around the globe, coral reefs and other marine ecosystems are increasingly overfished. Conventionally, studies of fishing impacts have focused on the population size and dynamics of targeted stocks rather than the broader ecosystem-wide effects of harvesting. Using parrotfishes as an example, we show how coral reef fish populations respond to escalating fishing pressure across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Based on these fish abundance data, we infer the potential impact on four key functional roles performed by parrotfishes. Rates of bioerosion and coral predation are highly sensitive to human activity, whereas grazing and sediment removal are resilient to fishing. Our results offer new insights into the vulnerability and resilience of coral reefs to the ever-growing human footprint. The depletion of fishes causes differential decline of key ecosystem functions, radically changing the dynamics of coral reefs and setting the stage for future ecological surprises. © 2011 The Royal Society.

Human activity selectively impacts the ecosystem roles of parrotfishes on coral reefs

KAUST Repository

Bellwood, David R.; Hoey, Andrew; Hughes, Terence P.

2011-01-01

Around the globe, coral reefs and other marine ecosystems are increasingly overfished. Conventionally, studies of fishing impacts have focused on the population size and dynamics of targeted stocks rather than the broader ecosystem-wide effects of harvesting. Using parrotfishes as an example, we show how coral reef fish populations respond to escalating fishing pressure across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Based on these fish abundance data, we infer the potential impact on four key functional roles performed by parrotfishes. Rates of bioerosion and coral predation are highly sensitive to human activity, whereas grazing and sediment removal are resilient to fishing. Our results offer new insights into the vulnerability and resilience of coral reefs to the ever-growing human footprint. The depletion of fishes causes differential decline of key ecosystem functions, radically changing the dynamics of coral reefs and setting the stage for future ecological surprises. © 2011 The Royal Society.

Characterization of dissolved organic matter in a coral reef ecosystem subjected to anthropogenic pressures (La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean) using multi-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tedetti, Marc; Cuet, Pascale; Guigue, Catherine; Goutx, Madeleine

2011-05-01

La Saline fringing reef is the most important coral reef complex of La Réunion Island (southwestern Indian Ocean; 21°07'S, 55°32'E). This ecosystem is subjected to anthropogenic pressures through river inputs and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). The goal of this study was to characterize the pool of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in different water bodies of La Saline fringing reef ecosystem using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectrofluorometry. From EEMs, we identified the different fluorophores by the peak picking technique and determined two fluorescence indices issued from the literature: the humification index (HIX) and the biological index (BIX). The main known fluorophores were present within the sample set: humic-like A, humic-like C, marine humic-like M, tryptophan-like T1 and T2, and tyrosine-like B1 and B2. In some samples, unknown fluorophores ("U") were also detected. The surface oceanic waters located beyond the reef front displayed a typical oligotrophic marine signature, with a dominance of autochthonous/biological material (presence of peaks: T1>B1>A>T2>M>C; HIX: 0.9±0.4; BIX: 2.3±1.1). In the reef waters, the autochthonous/biological fingerprint also dominated even though the content in humic substances was higher (same relative distribution of peaks; HIX: 1.6±0.6; BIX: 1.0±0.1). Sedimentary and volcanic SGD showed very different patterns with a strong terrestrial source for the former (A>T1>C>B1 and A>C>B1; HIX: 9.8±2.0; BIX: 0.8±0.0) and a weak terrestrial source for the latter (A>B1>U3>B2>C and A>U4>C; HIX: 2.4±0.3; BIX: 0.9±0.0). In the Hermitage River, both humic substances and protein-like material were abundant (T1>A>U5>B1>C>B2; HIX: 2.3; BIX: 1.4). We provide evidences for the presence of anthropogenic DOM in some of these water bodies. Some oceanic samples (presence of peaks U1 and U2) were likely contaminated by oil-derived PAHs from ships navigating around the reef front, whereas the Hermitage River was

Indian Ocean experiments with a coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wainer, I. [Sao Paulo, Univ. (Brazil). Dept. of Oceanography

1997-03-01

A coupled ocean-atmosphere model is used to investigate the equatorial Indian Ocean response to the seasonally varying monsoon winds. Special attention is given to the oceanic response to the spatial distribution and changes in direction of the zonal winds. The Indian Ocean is surrounded by an Asian land mass to the North and an African land mass to the West. The model extends latitudinally between 41 N and 41 S. The asymmetric atmospheric model is driven by a mass source/sink term that is proportional to the sea surface temperature (SST) over the oceans and the heat balance over the land. The ocean is modeled using the Anderson and McCreary reduced-gravity transport model that includes a prognostic equation for the SST. The coupled system is driven by the annual cycle as manifested by zonally symmetric and asymmetric land and ocean heating. They explored the different nature of the equatorial ocean response to various patterns of zonal wind stress forcing in order to isolate the impact of the remote response on the Somali current. The major conclusions are : i) the equatorial response is fundamentally different for easterlies and westerlies, ii) the impact of the remote forcing on the Somali current is a function of the annual cycle, iii) the size of the basin sets the phase of the interference of the remote forcing on the Somali current relative to the local forcing.

Epigenome-associated phenotypic acclimatization to ocean acidification in a reef-building coral

KAUST Repository

Liew, Yi Jin; Zoccola, Didier; Li, Yong; Tambutté , Eric; Venn, Alexander A.; Michell, Craig; Cui, Guoxin; Deutekom, Eva S.; Kaandorp, Jaap A.; Voolstra, Christian R.; Forê t, Sylvain; Allemand, Denis; Tambutté , Sylvie; Aranda, Manuel

2017-01-01

Over the last century, the anthropogenic production of CO2 has led to warmer (+0.74 C) and more acidic (-0.1 pH) oceans, resulting in increasingly frequent and severe mass bleaching events worldwide that precipitate global coral reef decline. To mitigate this decline, proposals to augment the stress tolerance of corals through genetic and non-genetic means have been gaining traction. Work on model systems has shown that environmentally induced alterations in DNA methylation can lead to phenotypic acclimatization. While DNA methylation has been observed in corals, its potential role in phenotypic plasticity has not yet been described. Here, we show that, similar to findings in mice, DNA methylation significantly reduces spurious transcription in the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata, suggesting the evolutionary conservation of this essential mechanism in corals. Furthermore, we find that DNA methylation also reduces transcriptional noise by fine-tuning the expression of highly expressed genes. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns of corals subjected to long-term pH stress showed widespread changes in pathways regulating cell cycle and body size. Correspondingly, we found significant increases in cell and polyp sizes that resulted in more porous skeletons, supporting the maintenance of linear extension rates under conditions of reduced calcification. These findings suggest an epigenetic component in phenotypic acclimatization, providing corals with an additional mechanism to cope with climate change.

Epigenome-associated phenotypic acclimatization to ocean acidification in a reef-building coral

KAUST Repository

Liew, Yi Jin

2017-09-14

Over the last century, the anthropogenic production of CO2 has led to warmer (+0.74 C) and more acidic (-0.1 pH) oceans, resulting in increasingly frequent and severe mass bleaching events worldwide that precipitate global coral reef decline. To mitigate this decline, proposals to augment the stress tolerance of corals through genetic and non-genetic means have been gaining traction. Work on model systems has shown that environmentally induced alterations in DNA methylation can lead to phenotypic acclimatization. While DNA methylation has been observed in corals, its potential role in phenotypic plasticity has not yet been described. Here, we show that, similar to findings in mice, DNA methylation significantly reduces spurious transcription in the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata, suggesting the evolutionary conservation of this essential mechanism in corals. Furthermore, we find that DNA methylation also reduces transcriptional noise by fine-tuning the expression of highly expressed genes. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns of corals subjected to long-term pH stress showed widespread changes in pathways regulating cell cycle and body size. Correspondingly, we found significant increases in cell and polyp sizes that resulted in more porous skeletons, supporting the maintenance of linear extension rates under conditions of reduced calcification. These findings suggest an epigenetic component in phenotypic acclimatization, providing corals with an additional mechanism to cope with climate change.

Time Series Observations in the North Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shenoy, D.M.; Naik, H.; Kurian, S.; Naqvi, S.W.A.; Khare, N.

Ocean and the ongoing time series study (Candolim Time Series; CaTS) off Goa. In addition, this article also focuses on the new time series initiative in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal under Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem...

Sea surface salinity variability during the Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO events in the tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Grunseich, G.; Subrahmanyam, B.; Murty, V.S.N.; Giese, B.S.

into the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean. The impact of concomitant La Niña with negative IOD is also large with an intense freshening in the southeastern Arabian Sea and salting off the northern Sumatra coast....

Clustering Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Tracks by the Standard Deviational Ellipse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Shahinoor Rahman

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The standard deviational ellipse is useful to analyze the shape and the length of a tropical cyclone (TC track. Cyclone intensity at each six-hour position is used as the weight at that location. Only named cyclones in the Indian Ocean since 1981 are considered for this study. The K-means clustering algorithm is used to cluster Indian Ocean cyclones based on the five parameters: x-y coordinates of the mean center, variances along zonal and meridional directions, and covariance between zonal and meridional locations of the cyclone track. Four clusters are identified across the Indian Ocean; among them, only one cluster is in the North Indian Ocean (NIO and the rest of them are in the South Indian Ocean (SIO. Other characteristics associated with each cluster, such as wind speed, lifespan, track length, track orientation, seasonality, landfall, category during landfall, total accumulated cyclone energy (ACE, and cyclone trend, are analyzed and discussed. Cyclone frequency and energy of Cluster 4 (in the NIO have been following a linear increasing trend. Cluster 4 also has a higher number of landfall cyclones compared to other clusters. Cluster 2, located in the middle of the SIO, is characterized by the long track, high intensity, long lifespan, and high accumulated energy. Sea surface temperature (SST and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR associated with genesis of TCs are also examined in each cluster. Cyclone genesis is co-located with the negative OLR anomaly and the positive SST anomaly. Localized SST anomalies are associated with clusters in the SIO; however, TC geneses of Cluster 4 are associated with SSTA all over the Indian Ocean (IO.

Differential response of coral communities to Caulerpa spp. bloom in the reefs of Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Manikandan, B.; Ravindran, J.

of this study suggested that the recovery of a coral reef after a macroalgal bloom largely depends on coral species composition and the frequency of stress events. A further study linking macroalgal bloom to its specific cause is essential for the successful...

Equatorial Indian Ocean subsurface current variability in an Ocean General Circulation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gnanaseelan, C.; Deshpande, Aditi

2018-03-01

The variability of subsurface currents in the equatorial Indian Ocean is studied using high resolution Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) simulations during 1958-2009. February-March eastward equatorial subsurface current (ESC) shows weak variability whereas strong variability is observed in northern summer and fall ESC. An eastward subsurface current with maximum amplitude in the pycnocline is prominent right from summer to winter during strong Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) years when air-sea coupling is significant. On the other hand during weak IOD years, both the air-sea coupling and the ESC are weak. This strongly suggests the role of ESC on the strength of IOD. The extension of the ESC to the summer months during the strong IOD years strengthens the oceanic response and supports intensification and maintenance of IODs through modulation of air sea coupling. Although the ESC is triggered by equatorial winds, the coupled air-sea interaction associated with IODs strengthens the ESC to persist for several seasons thereby establishing a positive feedback cycle with the surface. This suggests that the ESC plays a significant role in the coupled processes associated with the evolution and intensification of IOD events by cooling the eastern basin and strengthening thermocline-SST (sea surface temperature) interaction. As the impact of IOD events on Indian summer monsoon is significant only during strong IOD years, understanding and monitoring the evolution of ESC during these years is important for summer monsoon forecasting purposes. There is a westward phase propagation of anomalous subsurface currents which persists for a year during strong IOD years, whereas such persistence or phase propagation is not seen during weak IOD years, supporting the close association between ESC and strength of air sea coupling during strong IOD years. In this study we report the processes which strengthen the IOD events and the air sea coupling associated with IOD. It also unravels

Geochemical implications of gabbro from the slow-spreading Northern Central Indian Ocean Ridge, Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ray, Dwijesh; Misra, S.; Banerjee, R.; Weis, D.

., 1989) and the dynamics of crystallization of plutonic rocks (Bloomer et al., 1989; Meyer et al., 1989). The recovery of gabbroic rocks is mostly restricted to major transform faults or fracture zones transecting mid-ocean ridges, e.g., Mid... gabbro of Indian Ocean Ridge System (Fig 1) is ODP leg 118 from SWIR (Dick et al., 2002; Coogan et al, 2001). Gabbro from Leg 179 (ODP Hole 735B from Atlantis II fracture zone, Dick et al., 2000) and Leg 179 (Hole 1105A) near Leg 118 have also been...

On some aspects of Indian Ocean warm pool

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Saji, P.K.; Balchand, A.N.; RameshKumar, M.R.

Annual and interannual variation of Indian Ocean Warm Pool (IOWP) was studied using satellite and in situ ocean temperature data IOWP surface area undergoes a strong annual cycle attaining a maximum of 24x10⁶km² during April...

Coral-based Proxy Records of Ocean Acidification: A Pilot Study at the Puerto Rico Test-bed Site

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Coral cores collected nearby the Atlantic Ocean Acidification Test-bed (AOAT) at La Parguera, Puerto Rico were used to characterize the relationship between...

Impacts of ocean acidification on early life-history stages and settlement of the coral-eating sea star Acanthaster planci.

Science.gov (United States)

Uthicke, Sven; Pecorino, Danilo; Albright, Rebecca; Negri, Andrew Peter; Cantin, Neal; Liddy, Michelle; Dworjanyn, Symon; Kamya, Pamela; Byrne, Maria; Lamare, Miles

2013-01-01

Coral reefs are marine biodiversity hotspots, but their existence is threatened by global change and local pressures such as land-runoff and overfishing. Population explosions of coral-eating crown of thorns sea stars (COTS) are a major contributor to recent decline in coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef. Here, we investigate how projected near-future ocean acidification (OA) conditions can affect early life history stages of COTS, by investigating important milestones including sperm motility, fertilisation rates, and larval development and settlement. OA (increased pCO2 to 900-1200 µatm pCO2) significantly reduced sperm motility and, to a lesser extent, velocity, which strongly reduced fertilization rates at environmentally relevant sperm concentrations. Normal development of 10 d old larvae was significantly lower under elevated pCO2 but larval size was not significantly different between treatments. Settlement of COTS larvae was significantly reduced on crustose coralline algae (known settlement inducers of COTS) that had been exposed to OA conditions for 85 d prior to settlement assays. Effect size analyses illustrated that reduced settlement may be the largest bottleneck for overall juvenile production. Results indicate that reductions in fertilisation and settlement success alone would reduce COTS population replenishment by over 50%. However, it is unlikely that this effect is sufficient to provide respite for corals from other negative anthropogenic impacts and direct stress from OA and warming on corals.

Fidelity of the Sr/Ca proxy in recording ocean temperature in the western Atlantic coral Siderastrea siderea

Science.gov (United States)

Kuffner, Ilsa B.; Roberts, Kelsey E.; Flannery, Jennifer A.; Morrison, Jennifer M.; Richey, Julie N.

2017-01-01

Massive corals provide a useful archive of environmental variability, but careful testing of geochemical proxies in corals is necessary to validate the relationship between each proxy and environmental parameter throughout the full range of conditions experienced by the recording organisms. Here we use samples from a coral-growth study to test the hypothesis that Sr/Ca in the coral Siderastrea siderea accurately records sea-surface temperature (SST) in the subtropics (Florida, USA) along 350 km of reef tract. We test calcification rate, measured via buoyant weight, and linear extension (LE) rate, estimated with Alizarin Red-S staining, as predictors of variance in the Sr/Ca records of 39 individual S. siderea corals grown at four outer-reef locations next to in-situ temperature loggers during two, year-long periods. We found that corals with calcification rates corals that passed this quality control step, the Sr/Ca-SST proxy performed well in estimating mean annual temperature across three sites spanning 350 km of the Florida reef tract. However, there was some evidence that extreme temperature stress in 2010 (cold snap) and 2011 (SST above coral-bleaching threshold) may have caused the corals not to record the temperature extremes. Known stress events could be avoided during modern calibrations of paleoproxies.Plain Language SummaryCoral skeletons are used to decipher past environmental conditions in the ocean because they live for centuries and produce annual growth bands much like tree rings. Along with measuring coral growth rates in the past, coral skeletons can be chemically sampled to get even more detailed information, like past seawater temperatures. In this study we tested the validity of the strontium-to-calcium (Sr/Ca) temperature proxy in the Massive Starlet Coral (Siderastrea siderea) by sampling 39 corals that were grown in the ocean right next to instruments recording underwater temperature. We found that, as long as corals with very slow growth

Decoupling of coral skeletal δ13C and solar irradiance over the past millennium caused by the oceanic Suess effect

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Wenfeng; Chen, Xuefei; Wei, Gangjian; Zeng, Ti; Zhao, Jian-xin

2017-02-01

Many factors influence the seasonal changes in δ13C levels in coral skeletons; consequently, the climatic and environmental significance of such changes is complicated and controversial. However, it is widely accepted that the secular declining trend of coral δ13C over the past 200 years reflects the changes in the additional flux of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere into the surface oceans. Even so, the centennial-scale variations, and their significance, of coral δ13C before the Industrial Revolution remain unclear. Based on an annually resolved coral δ13C record from the northern South China Sea, the centennial-scale variations of coral δ13C over the past millennium were studied. The coral δ13C and total solar irradiance (TSI) have a significant positive Pearson correlation and coupled variation during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, when natural forcing controlled the climate and environment. This covariation suggests that TSI controls coral δ13C by affecting the photosynthetic activity of the endosymbiotic zooxanthellae over centennial timescales. However, there was a decoupling of the coral skeletal δ13C and TSI during the Current Warm Period, the period in which the climate and environment became linked to anthropogenic factors. Instead, coral δ13C levels have a significant Pearson correlation with both the atmospheric CO2 concentration and δ13C levels in atmospheric CO2. The correlation between coral δ13C and atmospheric CO2 suggests that the oceanic 13C Suess effect, caused by the addition of increasing amounts of anthropogenic 12CO2 to the surface ocean, has led to the decoupling of coral δ13C and TSI at the centennial scale.

Ocean acidification does not affect the physiology of the tropical coral Acropora digitifera during a 5-week experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, A.; Kurihara, H.

2013-03-01

The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, which has resulted from the burning of fossil fuels, is being absorbed by the oceans and is causing ocean acidification. Ocean acidification involves the decrease of both the pH and the calcium carbonate saturation state. Ocean acidification is predicted to impact the physiology of marine organisms and reduce the calcification rates of corals. In the present study, we measured the rates of calcification, respiration, photosynthesis, and zooxanthellae density of the tropical coral Acropora digitifera under near-natural summertime temperature and sunlight for a 5-week period. We found that these key physiological parameters were not affected by both mid-CO2 (pCO2 = 744 ± 38, pH = 7.97 ± 0.02, Ωarag = 2.6 ± 0.1) and high-CO2 conditions (pCO2 = 2,142 ± 205, pH = 7.56 ± 0.04, Ωarag = 1.1 ± 0.2) throughout the 35 days experimental period. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between calcification rate and seawater aragonite saturation (Ωarag). These results suggest that the impacts of ocean acidification on corals physiology may be more complex than have been previously proposed.

Understanding Rossby wave trains forced by the Indian Ocean Dipole

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, Peter C.; Hendon, Harry H.

2018-04-01

Convective variations over the tropical Indian Ocean associated with ENSO and the Indian Ocean Dipole force a Rossby wave train that appears to emanate poleward and eastward to the south of Australia and which causes climate variations across southern Australia and more generally throughout the Southern Hemisphere extratropics. However, during austral winter, the subtropical jet that extends from the eastern Indian Ocean into the western Pacific at Australian latitudes should effectively prohibit continuous propagation of a stationary Rossby wave from the tropics into the extratropics because the meridional gradient of mean absolute vorticity goes to zero on its poleward flank. The observed wave train indeed exhibits strong convergence of wave activity flux upon encountering this region of vanishing vorticity gradient and with some indication of reflection back into the tropics, indicating the continuous propagation of the stationary Rossby wave train from low to high latitudes is inhibited across the south of Australia. However, another Rossby wave train appears to emanate upstream of Australia on the poleward side of the subtropical jet and propagates eastward along the waveguide of the eddy-driven (sub-polar) jet into the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. This combination of evanescent wave train from the tropics and eastward propagating wave train emanating from higher latitudes upstream of Australia gives the appearance of a continuous Rossby wave train propagating from the tropical Indian Ocean into higher southern latitudes. The extratropical Rossby wave source on the poleward side of the subtropical jet stems from induced changes in transient eddy activity in the main storm track of the Southern Hemisphere. During austral spring, when the subtropical jet weakens, the Rossby wave train emanating from Indian Ocean convection is explained more traditionally by direct dispersion from divergence forcing at low latitudes.

Indian Ocean warming modulates Pacific climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jing-Jia; Sasaki, Wataru; Masumoto, Yukio

2012-11-13

It has been widely believed that the tropical Pacific trade winds weakened in the last century and would further decrease under a warmer climate in the 21st century. Recent high-quality observations, however, suggest that the tropical Pacific winds have actually strengthened in the past two decades. Precise causes of the recent Pacific climate shift are uncertain. Here we explore how the enhanced tropical Indian Ocean warming in recent decades favors stronger trade winds in the western Pacific via the atmosphere and hence is likely to have contributed to the La Niña-like state (with enhanced east-west Walker circulation) through the Pacific ocean-atmosphere interactions. Further analysis, based on 163 climate model simulations with centennial historical and projected external radiative forcing, suggests that the Indian Ocean warming relative to the Pacific's could play an important role in modulating the Pacific climate changes in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Inputs from Indian rivers to the ocean: A synthesis

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DileepKumar, M.; George, M.D.; SenGupta, R.

). Fluxes of chemical substances to the Indian Ocean from these rivers are computed to a first approximation. The major ion contents are inversely proportional to the river runoff especially for the rivers entering the Arabian Sea. On an average Indian...

500 kyr of Indian Ocean Walker Circulation Variability Using Foraminiferal Mg/Ca and Stable Isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Groeneveld, J.; Mohtadi, M.; Lückge, A.; Pätzold, J.

2017-12-01

The tropical Indian Ocean is a key location for paleoclimate research affected by different oceanographic and atmospheric processes. Annual climate variations are strongly controlled by the Indian and Asian Monsoon characterized by bi-annually reversing trade winds. Inter-annual climate variations in the Walker circulation are caused by the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño-Southern Oscillation resulting in either heavy flooding or severe droughts like for example the famine of 2011 in eastern Africa. Oceanographically the tropical western Indian Ocean receives water masses from the Indonesian Gateway area, sub-Antarctic waters that upwell south of the equator, and the outflow waters from the highly saline Red Sea. On the other hand, the tropical western Indian Ocean is a major source for providing water masses to the Agulhas Current system. Although the eastern Indian Ocean has been studied extensively, the tropical western Indian Ocean is still lacking in high quality climate-archives that have the potential to provide important information to understand how the ocean and atmospheric zonal circulation have changed in the past, and possibly will change in the future. Until now there were no long sediment cores available covering several glacial-interglacial cycles in the tropical western Indian Ocean. Core GeoB 12613-1, recovered during RV Meteor Cruise M75/2 east of the island of Pemba off Tanzania, provides an open-ocean core with well-preserved sediments covering the last five glacial-interglacial cycles ( 500 kyr). Mg/Ca and stable isotopes on both surface- and thermocline dwelling foraminifera have been performed to test how changes in sea water temperatures and relative sea water salinity were coupled on orbital time scales. The results are compared with similar records generated for the tropical eastern Indian Ocean in core SO139-74KL off Sumatra. Water column stratification on both sides of the Indian Ocean and the cross-basin gradients in sea water

Distribution of Oxycephalidae (Hyperiidea-Amphipoda) in the Indian Ocean- A statistical study

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, K.K.C.; Jayalakshmy, K.V.

Statistical analysis of oxycephalids on coexistence of the species showed two clusters of high affinity in the Arabian Sea, four in the Bay of Bengal, one in the South East Indian Ocean and three in the South West Indian Ocean. Species occurring...

Tracing the drift of MH370 debris throughout the Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Biastoch, Arne; Durgadoo, Jonathan V.; Rühs, Siren

2017-04-01

On 8 March 2014, a missing Boeing 777 of Malaysia Airlines (MH370) disappeared from radar screens. Since then, extensive search efforts aim to find the missing plane in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Starting with a flaperon washed up at La Réunion in July 2015, several pieces of debris were found at different shores at islands and African coasts in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Ocean currents were examined to understand the drift paths of debris throughout the Indian Ocean, and in consequence to identify the location of MH370. Here we present a series of Lagrangian analyses in which we follow particles representing virtual pieces of debris advected in an operational high-resolution ocean model. Of particular importance is the lare-scale influence of surface waves through Stokes drift. Large number of particles are analysed in statistical approaches to provide most likely starting locations. Different pieces of debris are combined to refine probability maps of their joint start positions. Forward vs. backward advection approaches are compared.

Wagging the Pacific Dog by its Indian Tail? : A west Indian Ocean Precursor to El Niño

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieners, C.E.

2018-01-01

Cool Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies tend to prevail in the Seychelles Dome region (Southwest Indian Ocean, NE of Madagascar) during the Northern hemisphere summer-autumn 1.5 years before El Niño. This West Indian Ocean precursor might potentially help to predict El Niño/Southern Oscillation

Physiological response of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus to thermal stress and ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Gori, Andrea; Ferrier-Pagès, Christine; Hennige, Sebastian J; Murray, Fiona; Rottier, Cécile; Wicks, Laura C; Roberts, J Murray

2016-01-01

Rising temperatures and ocean acidification driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions threaten both tropical and temperate corals. However, the synergistic effect of these stressors on coral physiology is still poorly understood, in particular for cold-water corals. This study assessed changes in key physiological parameters (calcification, respiration and ammonium excretion) of the widespread cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus maintained for ∼8 months at two temperatures (ambient 12 °C and elevated 15 °C) and two pCO2 conditions (ambient 390 ppm and elevated 750 ppm). At ambient temperatures no change in instantaneous calcification, respiration or ammonium excretion rates was observed at either pCO2 levels. Conversely, elevated temperature (15 °C) significantly reduced calcification rates, and combined elevated temperature and pCO2 significantly reduced respiration rates. Changes in the ratio of respired oxygen to excreted nitrogen (O:N), which provides information on the main sources of energy being metabolized, indicated a shift from mixed use of protein and carbohydrate/lipid as metabolic substrates under control conditions, to less efficient protein-dominated catabolism under both stressors. Overall, this study shows that the physiology of D. dianthus is more sensitive to thermal than pCO2 stress, and that the predicted combination of rising temperatures and ocean acidification in the coming decades may severely impact this cold-water coral species.

[Post nearly Drowning Vibrio alginolyticus Septicemia Acquired in Reunion (Indian Ocean)].

Science.gov (United States)

Gaüzère, B-A; Chanareille, P; Vandroux, D

2016-08-01

AbstractWe report the first case of Vibrio alginolyticus septicemia in the Indian Ocean (Reunion Island), in a patient (70-year-old-man) with multiple underlying conditions, following a nearly drowning in the lagoon of Reunion. From now on, V. alginolyticus should be considered as a possible agent of septicemia in the Indian Ocean, particularly following marine activities.

The Indian Ocean Experiment : Widespread air pollution from South and Southeast Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lelieveld, J; Crutzen, PJ; Ramanathan, A.; Andreae, MO; Brenninkmeijer, CAM; Campos, T; Cass, GR; Dickerson, RR; Fischer, H; de Gouw, JA; Hansel, A; Jefferson, A; Kley, D; de Laat, ATJ; Lal, S; Lawrence, MG; Lobert, JM; Mayol-Bracero, OL; Mitra, AP; Novakov, T; Oltmans, SJ; Prather, KA; Reiner, T; Rodhe, H; Scheeren, HA; Sikka, D; Williams, J

2001-01-01

The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) was an international, multiplatform field campaign to measure Long-range transport of air pollution from South and Southeast Asia toward the Indian Ocean during the dry monsoon season in January to March 1999. Surprisingly high pollution Levels were observed over

Potential effects of ocean acidification on Alaskan corals based on calcium carbonate mineralogy composition analysis (NCEI Accession 0157223)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains potential effects of ocean acidification on Alaskan corals based on calcium carbonate mineralogy composition analysis. Effects of...

Performance of the ocean state forecast system at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, T.M.B.; Sirisha, P.; Sandhya, K.G.; Srinivas, K.; SanilKumar, V.; Sabique, L.; Nherakkol, A.; KrishnaPrasad, B.; RakhiKumari; Jeyakumar, C.; Kaviyazhahu, K.; RameshKumar, M.; Harikumar, R.; Shenoi, S.S.C.; Nayak, S.

The reliability of the operational Ocean State Forecast system at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) during tropical cyclones that affect the coastline of India is described in this article. The performance...

Threatened Caribbean coral is able to mitigate the adverse effects of ocean acidification on calcification by increasing feeding rate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erica K Towle

Full Text Available Global climate change threatens coral growth and reef ecosystem health via ocean warming and ocean acidification (OA. Whereas the negative impacts of these stressors are increasingly well-documented, studies identifying pathways to resilience are still poorly understood. Heterotrophy has been shown to help corals experiencing decreases in growth due to either thermal or OA stress; however, the mechanism by which it mitigates these decreases remains unclear. This study tested the ability of coral heterotrophy to mitigate reductions in growth due to climate change stress in the critically endangered Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis via changes in feeding rate and lipid content. Corals were either fed or unfed and exposed to elevated temperature (30°C, enriched pCO2 (800 ppm, or both (30°C/800 ppm as compared to a control (26°C/390 ppm for 8 weeks. Feeding rate and lipid content both increased in corals experiencing OA vs. present-day conditions, and were significantly correlated. Fed corals were able to maintain ambient growth rates at both elevated temperature and elevated CO2, while unfed corals experienced significant decreases in growth with respect to fed conspecifics. Our results show for the first time that a threatened coral species can buffer OA-reduced calcification by increasing feeding rates and lipid content.

Deciphering detailed plate kinematics of the Indian Ocean and developing a unified model for East Gondwanaland reconstruction: An Indian-Australian-French initiative

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Yatheesh, V.; Dyment, J.; Bhattacharya, G.C.; Muller, R.D.

The Indian Ocean formed as a result of the fragmentation and dispersal of Gondwanaland since the Jurassic. The deep ocean basins in the Indian Ocean contain the imprints of this plate tectonic history, which is related with several major tectonic...

Evaluation of radiative fluxes over the north Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Ramesh Kumar, M. R.; Pinker, Rachel T.; Mathew, Simi; Venkatesan, R.; Chen, W.

2018-05-01

Radiative fluxes are a key component of the surface heat budget of the oceans. Yet, observations over oceanic region are sparse due to the complexity of radiation measurements; moreover, certain oceanic regions are substantially under-sampled, such as the north Indian Ocean. The National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, India, under its Ocean Observation Program has deployed an Ocean Moored Network for the Northern Indian Ocean (OMNI) both in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. These buoys are equipped with sensors to measure radiation and rainfall, in addition to other basic meteorological parameters. They are also equipped with sensors to measure sub-surface currents, temperature, and conductivity from the surface up to a depth of 500 m. Observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) AQUA and TERRA satellites have been used to infer surface radiation over the north Indian Ocean. In this study, we focus only on the shortwave (SW↓) fluxes. The evaluations of the MODIS-based SW↓ fluxes against the RAMA observing network have shown a very good agreement between them, and therefore, we use the MODIS-derived fluxes as a reference for the evaluation of the OMNI observations. In an early deployment of the OMNI buoys, the radiation sensors were placed at 2 m above the sea surface; subsequently, the height of the sensors was raised to 3 m. In this study, we show that there was a substantial improvement in the agreement between the buoy observations and the satellite estimates, once the sensors were raised to higher levels. The correlation coefficient increased from 0.87 to 0.93, and both the bias and standard deviations decreased substantially.

Lead isotopes in deep-sea coral skeletons: Ground-truthing and a first deglacial Southern Ocean record

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, David J.; van de Flierdt, Tina; Adkins, Jess F.

2017-05-01

Past changes in seawater lead (Pb) isotopes record the temporal evolution of anthropogenic pollution, continental weathering inputs, and ocean current transport. To advance our ability to reconstruct this signature, we present methodological developments that allow us to make precise and accurate Pb isotope measurements on deep-sea coral aragonite, and apply our approach to generate the first Pb isotope record for the glacial to deglacial mid-depth Southern Ocean. Our refined methodology includes a two-step anion exchange chemistry procedure and measurement using a 207Pb-204Pb double spike on a Thermo Finnigan Triton TIMS instrument. By employing a 1012 Ω resistor (in place of a 1011 Ω resistor) to measure the low-abundance 204Pb ion beam, we improve the internal precision on 206,207,208Pb/204Pb for a 2 ng load of NIST-SRM-981 Pb from typically ∼420 ppm to ∼230 ppm (2 s.e.), and the long term external reproducibility from ∼950 ppm to ∼550 ppm (2 s.d.). Furthermore, for a typical 500 mg coral sample with low Pb concentrations (∼6-10 ppb yielding ∼3-5 ng Pb for analysis), we obtain a comparable internal precision of ∼150-250 ppm for 206,207,208Pb/204Pb, indicating a good sensitivity for tracing natural Pb sources to the oceans. Successful extraction of a seawater signal from deep-sea coral aragonite further relies on careful physical and chemical cleaning steps, which are necessary to remove anthropogenic Pb contaminants and obtain results that are consistent with ferromanganese crusts. Applying our approach to a collection of late glacial and deglacial corals (∼12-40 ka BP) from south of Tasmania at ∼1.4-1.7 km water depth, we generated the first intermediate water Pb isotope record from the Southern Ocean. That record reveals millennial timescale variability, controlled by binary mixing between two Pb sources, but no distinct glacial-interglacial Pb isotope shift. Mixing between natural endmembers is fully consistent with our data and points to

Thermal stress and coral cover as drivers of coral disease outbreaks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John F Bruno

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Very little is known about how environmental changes such as increasing temperature affect disease dynamics in the ocean, especially at large spatial scales. We asked whether the frequency of warm temperature anomalies is positively related to the frequency of coral disease across 1,500 km of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We used a new high-resolution satellite dataset of ocean temperature and 6 y of coral disease and coral cover data from annual surveys of 48 reefs to answer this question. We found a highly significant relationship between the frequencies of warm temperature anomalies and of white syndrome, an emergent disease, or potentially, a group of diseases, of Pacific reef-building corals. The effect of temperature was highly dependent on coral cover because white syndrome outbreaks followed warm years, but only on high (>50% cover reefs, suggesting an important role of host density as a threshold for outbreaks. Our results indicate that the frequency of temperature anomalies, which is predicted to increase in most tropical oceans, can increase the susceptibility of corals to disease, leading to outbreaks where corals are abundant.

Short-term metabolic and growth responses of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa to ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Hennige, S. J.; Wicks, L. C.; Kamenos, N. A.; Bakker, D. C. E.; Findlay, H. S.; Dumousseaud, C.; Roberts, J. M.

2014-01-01

Cold-water corals are associated with high local biodiversity, but despite their importance as ecosystem engineers, little is known about how these organisms will respond to projected ocean acidification. Since preindustrial times, average ocean pH has decreased from 8.2 to ~8.1, and predicted CO2 emissions will decrease by up to another 0.3 pH units by the end of the century. This decrease in pH may have a wide range of impacts upon marine life, and in particular upon calcifiers such as cold-water corals. Lophelia pertusa is the most widespread cold-water coral (CWC) species, frequently found in the North Atlantic. Here, we present the first short-term (21 days) data on the effects of increased CO2 (750 ppm) upon the metabolism of freshly collected L. pertusa from Mingulay Reef Complex, Scotland, for comparison with net calcification. Over 21 days, corals exposed to increased CO2 conditions had significantly lower respiration rates (11.4±1.39 SE, μmol O2 g-1 tissue dry weight h-1) than corals in control conditions (28.6±7.30 SE μmol O2 g-1 tissue dry weight h-1). There was no corresponding change in calcification rates between treatments, measured using the alkalinity anomaly technique and 14C uptake. The decrease in respiration rate and maintenance of calcification rate indicates an energetic imbalance, likely facilitated by utilisation of lipid reserves. These data from freshly collected L. pertusa from the Mingulay Reef Complex will help define the impact of ocean acidification upon the growth, physiology and structural integrity of this key reef framework forming species.

Evidence for multiphase folding of the central Indian Ocean lithosphere

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Krishna, K.S.; Bull, J.M.; Scrutton, R.A.

Long-wavelength (100-300 km) folding in the central Indian Ocean associated with the diffuse plate boundary separating the Indian, Australian, and Capricorn plates is Earth's most convincing example of organized large-scale lithospheric deformation...

Phylogeography of Indo-Pacific reef fishes: sister wrassesCoris gaimardandC. cuvieriin the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean

KAUST Repository

Ahti, Pauliina A.; Coleman, Richard R.; DiBattista, Joseph; Berumen, Michael L.; Rocha, Luiz A.; Bowen, Brian W.

2016-01-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to resolve the evolutionary history, biogeographical barriers and population histories for sister species of wrasses, the African Coris (Coris cuvieri) in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, and the Yellowtail Coris (Coris gaimard) in the Pacific Ocean. Glacial sea level fluctuations during the Pleistocene have shaped the evolutionary trajectories of Indo-Pacific marine fauna, primarily by creating barriers between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Here, we evaluate the influence of these episodic glacial barriers on sister species C. cuvieri and C. gaimard. Location: Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean. Methods: Sequences from mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI), and nuclear introns gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and ribosomal S7 protein were analysed in 426 individuals from across the range of both species. Median-joining networks, analysis of molecular variance and Bayesian estimates of the time since most recent common ancestor were used to resolve recent population history and connectivity. Results: Cytochrome oxidase c subunit I haplotypes showed a divergence of 0.97% between species, and nuclear alleles were shared between species. No population structure was detected between the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The strongest signal of population structure was in C. gaimard between the Hawaiian biogeographical province and other Pacific locations (COI ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.040-0.173, P < 0.006; S7 ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.046, P < 0.001; GnRH ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.022, P < 0.005). Time to most recent common ancestor is c. 2.12 Ma for C. cuvieri and 1.76 Ma for C. gaimard. Main conclusions: We demonstrate an Indian-Pacific divergence of c. 2 Myr and high contemporary gene flow between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, mediated in part by the long pelagic larval stage. The discovery of hybrids at Christmas Island indicates that Indian and Pacific lineages have come into secondary contact after allopatric isolation. Subspecies

Phylogeography of Indo-Pacific reef fishes: sister wrassesCoris gaimardandC. cuvieriin the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean

KAUST Repository

Ahti, Pauliina A.

2016-02-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to resolve the evolutionary history, biogeographical barriers and population histories for sister species of wrasses, the African Coris (Coris cuvieri) in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, and the Yellowtail Coris (Coris gaimard) in the Pacific Ocean. Glacial sea level fluctuations during the Pleistocene have shaped the evolutionary trajectories of Indo-Pacific marine fauna, primarily by creating barriers between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Here, we evaluate the influence of these episodic glacial barriers on sister species C. cuvieri and C. gaimard. Location: Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean. Methods: Sequences from mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI), and nuclear introns gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and ribosomal S7 protein were analysed in 426 individuals from across the range of both species. Median-joining networks, analysis of molecular variance and Bayesian estimates of the time since most recent common ancestor were used to resolve recent population history and connectivity. Results: Cytochrome oxidase c subunit I haplotypes showed a divergence of 0.97% between species, and nuclear alleles were shared between species. No population structure was detected between the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The strongest signal of population structure was in C. gaimard between the Hawaiian biogeographical province and other Pacific locations (COI ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.040-0.173, P < 0.006; S7 ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.046, P < 0.001; GnRH ϕ(symbol)ST = 0.022, P < 0.005). Time to most recent common ancestor is c. 2.12 Ma for C. cuvieri and 1.76 Ma for C. gaimard. Main conclusions: We demonstrate an Indian-Pacific divergence of c. 2 Myr and high contemporary gene flow between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, mediated in part by the long pelagic larval stage. The discovery of hybrids at Christmas Island indicates that Indian and Pacific lineages have come into secondary contact after allopatric isolation. Subspecies

Mineral resources of the Indian Ocean and related scientific research

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Siddiquie, H.N.; Gujar, A.R.; Hashimi, N.H.; Valsangkar, A.B.; Nath, B.N.

The Indian Ocean (area: 74.917 x 106 km2, water volume: 291.945 x 106 km3, average depth: 3897 m) is the third largest of the world oceans. The lands bordering the ocean contain almost 40 percent of the world's population and contribute...

WATER TEMPERATURE and Other Data From Indian Ocean from 19760222 to 19910407 (NODC Accession 9400146)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The primary productivity and biological data in this accession were collected in the Indian Ocean by the Indian Ocean Data Center. Data was collected between...

History of oceanography of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sengupta, R.

This paper highlights history of the oceanography of the Indian Ocean. Oceanographic activities during Ancient period, Medieval period, British period, Post-Independence period are briefly discussed. The role of the IIOE, IOC, UNESCO are also...

Biodiversity of chaetognaths of the Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, V.R.; Gireesh, R.

Andaman Sea is a prominent biodiversity hotspot in the Indian Ocean. Stratified zooplankton collections were taken at 33 locations during 2003-2006. Average density of chaetognaths was 8.5/msup(3) in open ocean and 41.6/m sup(3) in coastal waters...

Geochemistry of coral from Papua New Guinea as a proxy for ENSO ocean-atmosphere interactions in the Pacific Warm Pool

Science.gov (United States)

Ayliffe, Linda K.; Bird, Michael I.; Gagan, Michael K.; Isdale, Peter J.; Scott-Gagan, Heather; Parker, Bruce; Griffin, David; Nongkas, Michael; McCulloch, Malcolm T.

2004-12-01

A Porites sp. coral growing offshore from the Sepik and Ramu Rivers in equatorial northern Papua New Guinea has yielded an accurate 20-year history (1977-1996) of sea surface temperature (SST), river discharge, and wind-induced mixing of the upper water column. Depressions in average SSTs of about 0.5-1.0 °C (indicated by coral Sr/Ca) and markedly diminished freshwater runoff to the coastal ocean (indicated by coral δ18O, δ13C and UV fluorescence) are evident during the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of 1982-1983, 1987 and 1991-1993. The perturbations recorded by the coral are in good agreement with changes in instrumental SST and river discharge/precipitation records, which are known to be diagnostic of the response of the Pacific Warm Pool ocean-atmosphere system to El Niño. Consideration of coastal ocean dynamics indicates that the establishment of northwest monsoon winds promotes mixing of near-surface waters to greater depths in the first quarter of most years, making the coral record sensitive to changes in the Asian-Australian monsoon cycle. Sudden cooling of SSTs by ˜1°C following westerly wind episodes, as indicated by the coral Sr/Ca, is consistent with greater mixing in the upper water column at these times. Furthermore, the coral UV fluorescence and oxygen isotope data indicate minimal contribution of river runoff to surface ocean waters at the beginning of most years, during the time of maximum discharge. This abrupt shift in flood-plume behaviour appears to reflect the duration and magnitude of northwest monsoon winds, which tend to disperse flood plume waters to a greater extent in the water column when wind-mixing is enhanced. Our results suggest that a multi-proxy geochemical approach to the production of long coral records should provide comprehensive reconstructions of tropical paleoclimate processes operating on interannual timescales.

Modeling Surface Water Transport in the Central Pacific Ocean With 129I Records From Coral Skeletons

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, W.; Biddulph, D. L.; Russell, J. L.; Burr, G. S.; Jull, T. J.; Correge, T.; Roeder, B.

2008-12-01

129I occurs naturally in extremely low abundance via cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere as well as by spontaneous fission of uranium. Oceanic concentrations of 129I have risen by several orders of magnitude during the last half century largely from environmental pollution coming from several point-source nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. In the Pacific basin, much of the increase has apparently come from the Hanford Nuclear reprocessing plant in the United States, with iodine primarily arriving via the Columbia River. Coral skeletons preserve records of 129I concentration of the surface waters from which they were deposited, yielding records with annual resolution or better. We will present three such records from different locations in the Pacific Ocean: the Solomon Islands, Easter Island and Clipperton Atoll. For this study, drill cores from living massive coral skeletons of the species Porites Lobata were collected from these sites. 129I/127I values were measured using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the University of Arizona with an NEC 3 MV Pelletron accelerator. Results from the analysis of the corals will be compared to the distribution of other mixed-layer tracers (chloro-fluorocarbons and tritium) collected during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment cruises conducted between 1990 and 2002. The 129I/127I records observed in these corals will also be compared to tracer transit time calculations determined from a 20th century simulation of the GFDL coupled-climate passive-tracer model.

Opposite latitudinal gradients in projected ocean acidification and bleaching impacts on coral reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hooidonk, Ruben; Maynard, Jeffrey Allen; Manzello, Derek; Planes, Serge

2014-01-01

Coral reefs and the services they provide are seriously threatened by ocean acidification and climate change impacts like coral bleaching. Here, we present updated global projections for these key threats to coral reefs based on ensembles of IPCC AR5 climate models using the new Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) experiments. For all tropical reef locations, we project absolute and percentage changes in aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) for the period between 2006 and the onset of annual severe bleaching (thermal stress >8 degree heating weeks); a point at which it is difficult to believe reefs can persist as we know them. Severe annual bleaching is projected to start 10-15 years later at high-latitude reefs than for reefs in low latitudes under RCP8.5. In these 10-15 years, Ωarag keeps declining and thus any benefits for high-latitude reefs of later onset of annual bleaching may be negated by the effects of acidification. There are no long-term refugia from the effects of both acidification and bleaching. Of all reef locations, 90% are projected to experience severe bleaching annually by 2055. Furthermore, 5% declines in calcification are projected for all reef locations by 2034 under RCP8.5, assuming a 15% decline in calcification per unit of Ωarag. Drastic emissions cuts, such as those represented by RCP6.0, result in an average year for the onset of annual severe bleaching that is ~20 years later (2062 vs. 2044). However, global emissions are tracking above the current worst-case scenario devised by the scientific community, as has happened in previous generations of emission scenarios. The projections here for conditions on coral reefs are dire, but provide the most up-to-date assessment of what the changing climate and ocean acidification mean for the persistence of coral reefs. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ecosystem characterization in Indian Ocean sector, Antarctica

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Matondkar, S.G.P.; Dhargalkar, V.K.; Parulekar, A.H.

is most pronounced, which makes Indian Ocean sector an upwelled area marked by high nutrients, appreciable growth rate of phytoplankton and rich organic matter in the water column. The fractionation studies revealed the importance of picoautotrophs...

Distribution of Tritium and {sup 137}CS in South Indian Ocean Waters - Implications of Water Transport Processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Povinec, P. P.; Jeskovsky, M.; Sykora, I. [Comenius University, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Bratislava (Slovakia); Aoyama, M. [Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Gastaud, J.; Levy, I. [International Atomic Energy Agency, Marine Environment Laboratories (Monaco); Hamajima, Y. [Kanazawa University, Low-Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Nomi (Japan); Hirose, K. [Sophia University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo (Japan); Sanchez-Cabeza, J. A. [Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain)

2013-07-15

The World Ocean, and specifically the Indian Ocean, plays a significant role in the better understanding of the climate. The distribution of global fallout {sup 3}H, {sup 14}C, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 129}I and {sup 137}Cs in the seawater of the Indian Ocean, after their main injection from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests during the 1960s, have been investigated. Results obtained in the framework of the SHOTS (Southern Hemisphere Ocean Tracer Studies) project are evaluated and compared with previously published data. The enhanced {sup 3}H and {sup 137}Cs levels observed in the south Indian ocean indicate transport of water masses labelled with these radionuclides from the central Pacific Ocean via the Indonesian Seas to the Indian Ocean. The observed surface gradients and presence of several water masses in the south Indian ocean makes this ocean one of the most dynamic parts of the World ocean. (author)

Ulrike Freitag: Indian Ocean, Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut. Reforming the Homeland. Ulrike Freitag & William Clarence-Smith : Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean Lambert

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Ulrike Freitag Indian Ocean, Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut. Reforming the Homeland Leyde / Boston, Brill, 2003 Ulrike Freitag & William Clarence-Smith (directeurs Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s Leyde / New-York / Cologne, Brill, 1997 Le livre Indian Ocean, Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut nous présente l'histoire moderne du Hadramaout, du début du xixe siècle à la fin de la période britannique (1967, en parallèle avec...

In Situ Boundary Layer Coral Metabolism in the Atlantic Ocean Acidification Test Bed

Science.gov (United States)

McGillis, Wade

2013-04-01

and Chris Langdon, Brice Loose, Dwight Gledhill, Diana Hsueh, Derek Manzello, Ian Enochs, Ryan Moyer We present net ecosystem productivity (nep) and net ecosystem calcification (nec) in coral and seagrass ecosystems using the boundary layer gradient flux technique (CROSS). Coastal anthropogenic inputs and changes in global ocean chemistry in response to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide has emerged in recent years as a topic of considerable concern. Coral reefs are particularly vulnerable from eroded environmental conditions including ocean acidification and water pollution. The Atlantic Ocean Acidification Testbed (AOAT) project monitors metabolism to ascertain the continuing health of coral reef ecosystems. The CROSS boundary layer nep/nec approach is one component of this diagnostic program. Certification of CROSS as an operational monitoring tool is underway in the AOAT. CROSS inspects a benthic community and measures productivity/respiration and calcification/dissolution over an area of 10 square meters. Being a boundary layer tool, advection and complex mesoscale flows are not a factor or concern and CROSS is autonomous and can be used at deep benthic sites. The interrogation area is not enclosed therefore exposed to ambient light, flow, and nutrient levels. CROSS is easy to deploy, unambiguous, and affordable. Repeated measurements have been made from 2011-2012 in reefal systems in La Parguera Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys, USA. Diurnal, seasonal and regional metabolism will be compared and discussed. The ability to accurately probe benthic ecosystems provides a powerful management and research tool to policy makers and researchers.

The diversity of Indian Ocean Heterotardigrada

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Roberto SANDULLI

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Information about Indian Ocean tardigrades is quite scarce and in most cases refers to species in coastal coralline sediment and occasionally in abyssal mud. The present data concern species found in the intertidal sand of Coco and La Digue Islands in the Seychelles, previously unsampled for tardigrades, as well as species in subtidal sediment found at depths ranging between 1 and 60 m off the shores of the Maldive Atolls. These sediments are all very similar and consist of heterogeneous coralline sand, moderately or scarcely sorted. Sixteen species (three new to science were found in the Seychelles, belonging to Renaudarctidae, Stygarctidae, Halechiniscidae, Batillipedidae and Echiniscoididae. Diversity and evenness data are also interesting, with maximum values of H' = 2.59 and of J = 0.97. In the Maldives 25 species were found (two new to science belonging to Neostygarctidae, Stygarctidae, Halechiniscidae and Batillipedidae. Such a number of species, despite the low percentage of tardigrade fauna (only 0.6% of the total meiofauna, contributes to the high values of both diversity and evenness, with H' ranging between 1.5 and 2.6 and J between 0.6 and 1. The Indian Ocean tardigrade fauna currently numbers 31 species of Arthrotardigrada and 2 species of Echiniscoidida. In the present study, Arthrotardigrada are the most abundant and all the families are present except Neoarctidae. Halechiniscidae is present with all the sub-families (except Euclavartinae, thus contributing to the high diversity values. Furthermore, 18 species, representing more than 50% of the total marine tardigrade fauna, are new records for the Indian Ocean, including five species new to science.

Regal phylogeography: Range-wide survey of the marine angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus reveals evolutionary partitions between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Richard R; Eble, Jeffrey A; DiBattista, Joseph D; Rocha, Luiz A; Randall, John E; Berumen, Michael L; Bowen, Brian W

2016-07-01

The regal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus; family Pomacanthidae) occurs on reefs from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, with an Indian Ocean/Rea Sea color morph distinct from a Pacific Ocean morph. To assess population differentiation and evaluate the possibility of cryptic evolutionary partitions in this monotypic genus, we surveyed mtDNA cytochrome b and two nuclear introns (S7 and RAG2) in 547 individuals from 15 locations. Phylogeographic analyses revealed four mtDNA lineages (d=0.006-0.015) corresponding to the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, and two admixed lineages in the Indian Ocean, a pattern consistent with known biogeographic barriers. Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean had both Indian and Pacific lineages. Both S7 and RAG2 showed strong population-level differentiation between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean (ΦST=0.066-0.512). The only consistent population sub-structure within these three regions was at the Society Islands (French Polynesia), where surrounding oceanographic conditions may reinforce isolation. Coalescence analyses indicate the Pacific (1.7Ma) as the oldest extant lineage followed by the Red Sea lineage (1.4Ma). Results from a median-joining network suggest radiations of two lineages from the Red Sea that currently occupy the Indian Ocean (0.7-0.9Ma). Persistence of a Red Sea lineage through Pleistocene glacial cycles suggests a long-term refuge in this region. The affiliation of Pacific and Red Sea populations, apparent in cytochrome b and S7 (but equivocal in RAG2) raises the hypothesis that the Indian Ocean was recolonized from the Red Sea, possibly more than once. Assessing the genetic architecture of this widespread monotypic genus reveals cryptic evolutionary diversity that merits subspecific recognition. We recommend P.d. diacanthus and P.d. flavescens for the Pacific and Indian Ocean/Red Sea forms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Larval and postlarval stages of Atypopenaeus Alcock (Decapoda, Penaeidae: Penaeinae) from Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Paulinose, V.T.

Two of the early mysis stages and an early postlarva of a species of Atypopenaeus are described here for the first time. A total of 15 specimens were obtained from the Indian Ocean during the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE). The species...

Biophysical processes in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mc; Murtugudde, R.; Vialard, J.; Vinayachandran, P.N.; Wiggert, J.D.; Hood, R.R.; Shankar, D.; Shetye, S.R.

Ocean Biogeochemical Processes and Ecological Variability Geophysical Monograph Series 185 Copyright 200� by the American Geophysical Union. 10.102�/2008GM000768 Biophysical Processes in the Indian Ocean J. P. McCreary, 1 R. Murtugudde, 2 J. Vialard, 3...) also plots the upper-layer thickness, h 1 , from the model of McCreary et al. [1��3] (hereinafter referred to as MKM); h 1 simulates the structure of the top of the actual thermocline reasonably well, except that it is somewhat too thin from 5...

The Role of Indian Ocean SST Anomalies in Modulating Regional Rainfall Variability and Long-term Change

Science.gov (United States)

Ummenhofer, C. C.; Sen Gupta, A.; England, M. H.

2008-12-01

In a series of atmospheric general circulation model simulations, the potential impact of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in modulating low- to mid-latitude precipitation around the Indian Ocean rim countries is explored. The relative importance of various characteristic tropical and subtropical Indian Ocean SST poles, both individually and in combination, to regional precipitation changes is quantified. A mechanism for the rainfall modulation is proposed, by which the SST anomalies induce changes in the thermal properties of the atmosphere, resulting in a reorganization of the large-scale atmospheric circulation across the Indian Ocean basin. Across western and southern regions of Australia, rainfall anomalies are found to be due to modulations in the meridional thickness gradient, thermal wind, and baroclinicity, leading to changes in the moisture flux onto the continent. The pattern of large-scale circulation changes over the tropical Indian Ocean and adjacent land masses is consistent with an anomalous strengthening of the Walker cell, leading to variations in precipitation of opposite sign across western and eastern regions of the basin. Links between long-term changes in Indian Ocean surface properties and regional precipitation changes in Indian Ocean rim countries are also discussed in a broader context with implications for water management and seasonal forecasting.

Regal phylogeography: Range-wide survey of the marine angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus reveals evolutionary partitions between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean

KAUST Repository

Coleman, Richard R.

2016-04-08

The regal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus; family Pomacanthidae) occupies reefs from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, with an Indian Ocean/Rea Sea color morph distinct from a Pacific Ocean morph. To assess population differentiation and evaluate the possibility of cryptic evolutionary partitions in this monotypic genus, we surveyed mtDNA cytochrome b and two nuclear introns (S7 and RAG2) in 547 individuals from 15 locations. Phylogeographic analyses revealed four mtDNA lineages (d = 0.006 – 0.015) corresponding to the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, and two admixed lineages in the Indian Ocean, a pattern consistent with known biogeographical barriers. Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean had both Indian and Pacific lineages. Both S7 and RAG2 showed strong population-level differentiation between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean (ΦST = 0.066 – 0.512). The only consistent population sub-structure within these three regions was at the Society Islands (French Polynesia), where surrounding oceanographic conditions may reinforce isolation. Coalescence analyses indicate the Pacific (1.7 Ma) as the oldest extant lineage followed by the Red Sea lineage (1.4 Ma). Results from a median-joining network suggest radiations of two lineages from the Red Sea that currently occupy the Indian Ocean (0.7 – 0.9 Ma). Persistence of a Red Sea lineage through Pleistocene glacial cycles suggests a long-term refuge in this region. The affiliation of Pacific and Red Sea populations, apparent in cytochrome b and S7 (but equivocal in RAG2) raises the hypthosis that the Indian Ocean was recolonized from the Red Sea, possibly more than once. Assessing the genetic architecture of this widespread monotypic genus reveals cryptic evolutionary diversity that merits subspecific recognition.

Regal phylogeography: Range-wide survey of the marine angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus reveals evolutionary partitions between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean

KAUST Repository

Coleman, Richard R.; Eble, Jeffrey A.; DiBattista, Joseph; Rocha, Luiz A.; Randall, John E.; Berumen, Michael L.; Bowen, Brian W.

2016-01-01

The regal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus; family Pomacanthidae) occupies reefs from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, with an Indian Ocean/Rea Sea color morph distinct from a Pacific Ocean morph. To assess population differentiation and evaluate the possibility of cryptic evolutionary partitions in this monotypic genus, we surveyed mtDNA cytochrome b and two nuclear introns (S7 and RAG2) in 547 individuals from 15 locations. Phylogeographic analyses revealed four mtDNA lineages (d = 0.006 – 0.015) corresponding to the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, and two admixed lineages in the Indian Ocean, a pattern consistent with known biogeographical barriers. Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean had both Indian and Pacific lineages. Both S7 and RAG2 showed strong population-level differentiation between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean (ΦST = 0.066 – 0.512). The only consistent population sub-structure within these three regions was at the Society Islands (French Polynesia), where surrounding oceanographic conditions may reinforce isolation. Coalescence analyses indicate the Pacific (1.7 Ma) as the oldest extant lineage followed by the Red Sea lineage (1.4 Ma). Results from a median-joining network suggest radiations of two lineages from the Red Sea that currently occupy the Indian Ocean (0.7 – 0.9 Ma). Persistence of a Red Sea lineage through Pleistocene glacial cycles suggests a long-term refuge in this region. The affiliation of Pacific and Red Sea populations, apparent in cytochrome b and S7 (but equivocal in RAG2) raises the hypthosis that the Indian Ocean was recolonized from the Red Sea, possibly more than once. Assessing the genetic architecture of this widespread monotypic genus reveals cryptic evolutionary diversity that merits subspecific recognition.

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 3, No 2 (2004) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 6, No 2 (2008) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Interannual variability of the tropical Indian Ocean mixed layer depth

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Keerthi, M.G.; Lengaigne, M.; Vialard, J.; Montegut, C.deB.; Muraleedharan, P.M.

, shoaling the MLD (Masson et al. 2002, Qu and Meyers 2005, Du et al. 2005). The seasonal cycle in the southern tropical Indian Ocean has been less 3 investigated. Seasonal shoaling and deepening of the mixed layer in the south-western Tropical Indian...

Cd, Zn, Ni and Cu in the Indian Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saager, Paul M.; Baar, Hein J.W. de; Howland, Robin J.

1992-01-01

Vertical profiles of dissolved Cd, Zn, Ni and Cu in the Northwest Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea) exhibit a nutrient type distribution also observed in other oceans. The area is characterized by strong seasonal upwelling and a broad oxygen minimum zone in intermediate waters. However, neither Cd, Zn, Ni

Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in the North Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DileepKumar, M.; Naqvi, S.W.A; Jayakumar, D.A; George, M.D.; Narvekar, P.V.; DeSousa, S

The understanding of biogeochemical cycling of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in the oceans is essential for predicting the fate of anthropogenically emitted components. The North Indian Ocean, with its diverse regimes, provides us with a natural...

Mangrove and seagrass beds provide different biogeochemical services for corals threatened by climate change

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Emma F Camp

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Rapidly rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are driving acidification in parallel with warming of the oceans. Future ocean acidification scenarios have the potential to impact coral growth and associated reef function, although reports suggest such affects could be reduced in adjacent seagrass habitats as a result of physio-chemical buffering. To-date, it remains unknown whether these habitats can actually support the metabolic function of a diverse range of corals. Similarly, whether mangroves provide the same ecological buffering service remains unclear. We examine whether reef-associated habitat sites (seagrass and mangroves can act as potential refugia to future climate change by maintaining favorable chemical conditions (elevated pH and aragonite saturation state relative to the open-ocean, but by also assessing whether the metabolic function (photosynthesis, respiration and calcification of important reef-building corals are sustained. We investigated three sites in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and consistently observed that seagrass beds experience an overall elevation in mean pH (8.15 ± 0.01 relative to the adjacent outer-reef (8.12 ± 0.03, but with periods of high and low pH. Corals in the seagrass habitats either sustained calcification or experienced an average reduction of 17.0 ± 6.1 % relative to the outer-reef. In contrast, mangrove habitats were characterized by a low mean pH (8.04 ± 0.01 and a relatively moderate pH range. Corals within mangrove-dominated habitats were thus pre-conditioned to low pH but with significant suppression to calcification (70.0 ± 7.3 % reduction relative to the outer-reef. Both habitats also experienced more variable temperatures (diel range up to 2.5°C relative to the outer-reef (diel range less than 0.7°C, which did not correspond with changes in calcification rates. Here we report, for the first time, the biological costs for corals living in reef-associated habitats and

Post-bleaching coral community change on southern Maldivian reefs: is there potential for rapid recovery?

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, C. T.; Morgan, K. M.

2017-12-01

Given the severity of the 2016 global bleaching event, there are major questions about how quickly reef communities will recover. Here, we explore the ecological and physical structural changes that occurred across five atoll interior reefs in the southern Maldives using data collected at 6 and 12 months post-bleaching. Following initial severe coral mortality, further minor coral mortality had occurred by 12 months post-bleaching, and coral cover is now low (transitions to rubble-dominated states will occur in the near future. Juvenile coral densities in shallow fore-reef habitats are also exceptionally low (<6 individuals m-2), well below those measured 9-12 months following the 1998 bleaching event, and below recovery thresholds identified on other Indian Ocean reefs. Our findings suggest that the physical structure of these reefs will need to decline further before effective recruitment and recovery can begin.

The role stratification on Indian ocean mixing under global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Praveen, V.; Valsala, V.; Ravindran, A. M.

2017-12-01

The impact of changes in Indian ocean stratification on mixing under global warming is examined. Previous studies on global warming and associated weakening of winds reported to increase the stratification of the world ocean leading to a reduction in mixing, increased acidity, reduced oxygen and there by a reduction in productivity. However this processes is not uniform and are also modulated by changes in wind pattern of the future. Our study evaluate the role of stratification and surface fluxes on mixing focusing northern Indian ocean. A dynamical downscaling study using Regional ocean Modelling system (ROMS) forced with stratification and surface fluxes from selected CMIP5 models are presented. Results from an extensive set of historical and Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (rcp8.5) scenario simulations are used to quantify the distinctive role of stratification on mixing.

Nodules of the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Banakar, V.K.; Kodagali, V.N.

of calcareous sediments within, and pelagic sediments south of 15 degrees S latitude Prior to the launching of the project, very little data was available on the Indian Ocean nodules compared to those of Pacific This chapter summaries the findings of the project...

Studies on the secondary metabolites from the Indian gorgonian Subergorgia suberosa: Isolation and characterization of four analogues of the cardiotoxin subergorgic acid

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Parameswaran, P.S.; Naik, C.G.; Kamat, S.Y.; Puar, M.S.; Das, Pradip; Hegde, V.R.

Chemical investigation of the methanol extract of the Indian Ocean gorgonian coral Subergorgia suberosa resulted in isolation and identification of four novel compounds 2-5. Structural investigation revealed compound 1 to be subergorgic acid...

Foraminifera Population from South Africa Coast Line (Indian and Atlantic Oceans

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Engin Meriç

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Cape Town is the second-largest city of the Republic of South Africa. Research is conducted in 3 different stations: Maori Bay, which lies in the southwest of Cape Town, and Pyramid Rock and Partridge Points which lies in the False Bay, southeast part of Cape Town. Samples are taken from young sediments at 10.00 and 20.00 m depths, and collected by scuba-diving method. The aim of the study is to investigate the living benthic foraminifera assemblages in the Atlantic Ocean, and to compare these assemblages with the southeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Western Pacific assemblages. Moreover, the aim of the study is to determine whether there are any benthic foraminifera forms reaching to the Mediterranean from Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean or Red Sea via Suez Channel.

Magma Supply of Southwest Indian Ocean: Implication from Crustal Thickness Anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Chiheng, L.; Jianghai, L.; Huatian, Z.; Qingkai, F.

2017-12-01

The Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) is one of the world's slowest spreading ridges with a full spreading rate of 14mm a-1, belonging to ultraslow spreading ridge, which are a novel class of spreading centers symbolized by non-uniform magma supply and crustal accretion. Therefore, the crustal thickness of Southwest Indian Ocean is a way to explore the magmatic and tectonic process of SWIR and the hotspots around it. Our paper uses Residual Mantle Bouguer Anomaly processed with the latest global public data to invert the relative crustal thickness and correct it according to seismic achievements. Gravity-derived crustal thickness model reveals a huge range of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean from 0.04km to 24km, 7.5km of average crustal thickness, and 3.5km of standard deviation. In addition, statistics data of crustal thickness reveal the frequency has a bimodal mixed skewed distribution, which indicates the crustal accretion by ridge and ridge-plume interaction. Base on the crustal thickness model, we divide three types of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean. About 20.31% of oceanic crust is 9.8km thick as thick crust. Furthermore, Prominent thin crust anomalies are associated with the trend of most transform faults, but thick crust anomalies presents to northeast of Andrew Bain transform fault. Cold and depleted mantle are also the key factors to form the thin crust. The thick crust anomalies are constrained by hotspots, which provide abundant heat to the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridge or ocean basin. Finally, we roughly delineate the range of ridge-plume interaction and transform fault effect.

Adapt, move or die - how will tropical coral reef fishes cope with ocean warming?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Habary, Adam; Johansen, Jacob L.; Nay, Tiffany J.

2017-01-01

poleward, away from ocean warming hotspots where temperatures 2-3 °C above long-term annual means can compromise critical physiological processes. We examined the capacity of a model species - a thermally sensitive coral reef fish, Chromis viridis (Pomacentridae) - to use preference behaviour to regulate...

Calanoid copepods of the International Indian Ocean Expedition

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Stephen, R.; Devi, K.S.; Meenakshikunjamma, P.P.; Gopalakrishnan, T.C.; Saraswathy, M.

The distribution of calanoid copepods is discussed based on the subsorted taxa of the International Indian Ocean Expedition samples. Of the 32 calanoid taxa only 17 groups were considered as significant components. The family Eycalanidae...

Ferromanganese nodules from the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jauhari, P.; Pattan, J.N.

In order to delineate a mine site for ferromanganese nodules, extensive surveys were conducted in Central Indian Ocean Basin. Mapping of the basin by multibeam swath bathymetry (Hydrosweep) has revealed many new bottom relief features...

Organochlorine pesticide residues in the northern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shailaja, M.S.; Sarkar, A.

periodic monitoring of the levels of the major pollutants. One on-going exercise has been to evaluate, qualitatively and quantitatively, the persistent organochlorine pesticide residues in the Northern Indian Ocean. The baseline levels of some...

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science: Submissions

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Already have a Username/Password for Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science? ... Editorial Policy ... The manuscript is your own original work, and does not duplicate any other previously published work, including your own ...

Primary Life Stage Boron Isotope and Trace Elements Incorporation in Aposymbiotic Acropora millepora Coral under Ocean Acidification and Warming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry C. Wu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Early-life stages of reef-building corals are vital to coral existence and reef maintenance. It is therefore crucial to study juvenile coral response to future climate change pressures. Moreover, corals are known to be reliable recorders of environmental conditions in their skeletal materials. Aposymbiotic Acropora millepora larvae were cultured in different seawater temperature (27 and 29°C and pCO2 (390 and 750 μatm conditions to understand the impacts of “end of century” ocean acidification (OA and ocean warming (OW conditions on skeletal morphology and geochemistry. The experimental conditions impacted primary polyp juvenile coral skeletal morphology and growth resulting in asymmetric translucent appearances with brittle skeleton features. The impact of OA resulted in microstructure differences with decreased precipitation or lengthening of fasciculi and disorganized aragonite crystals that led to more concentrations of centers of calcifications. The coral skeletal δ11B composition measured by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS was significantly affected by pCO2 (p = 0.0024 and water temperature (p = 1.46 × 10−5. Reconstructed pH of the primary polyp skeleton using the δ11B proxy suggests a difference in coral calcification site and seawater pH consistent with previously observed coral pH up-regulation. Similarly, trace element results measured by laser ablation ICP-MS indicate the impact of pCO2. Primary polyp juvenile Sr/Ca ratio indicates a bias in reconstructed sea surface temperature (SST under higher pCO2 conditions. Coral microstructure content changes (center of calcification and fasciculi due to OA possibly contributed to the variability in B/Ca ratios. Our results imply that increasing OA and OW may lead to coral acclimation issues and species-specific inaccuracies of the commonly used Sr/Ca-SST proxy.

Indian Ocean warming modulates Pacific climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jing-Jia; Sasaki, Wataru; Masumoto, Yukio

2012-01-01

It has been widely believed that the tropical Pacific trade winds weakened in the last century and would further decrease under a warmer climate in the 21st century. Recent high-quality observations, however, suggest that the tropical Pacific winds have actually strengthened in the past two decades. Precise causes of the recent Pacific climate shift are uncertain. Here we explore how the enhanced tropical Indian Ocean warming in recent decades favors stronger trade winds in the western Pacific via the atmosphere and hence is likely to have contributed to the La Niña-like state (with enhanced east–west Walker circulation) through the Pacific ocean–atmosphere interactions. Further analysis, based on 163 climate model simulations with centennial historical and projected external radiative forcing, suggests that the Indian Ocean warming relative to the Pacific’s could play an important role in modulating the Pacific climate changes in the 20th and 21st centuries. PMID:23112174

Panmixia in east African Platgyra daedalea | Macdonald | Western ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reef coral populations in the western Indian Ocean are neglected in terms of research and management. Very little is known about coral population connectivity and dynamics at regional scales. Platygyra daedalea was collected from Indian Ocean coral reefs, mainly from the east African coast between Mombasa Marine ...

Indian Ocean floor deformation induced by the Reunion plume rather than the Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Iaffaldano, G.; Davies, D. R.; DeMets, C.

2018-05-01

The central Indian Ocean is considered the archetypal diffuse oceanic plate boundary. Data from seismic stratigraphy and deep-sea drilling indicate that the contractional deformation of the Indian Ocean lithosphere commenced at 15.4-13.9 Ma, but experienced a sharp increase at 8-7.5 Ma. This has been maintained through to the present day, with over 80% of the shortening accrued over the past 8 Myr. Here we build on previous efforts to refine the form, timing and magnitude of the regional plate-motion changes by mitigating the noise in reconstructed Indian and Capricorn plate motions relative to Somalia. Our noise-mitigated reconstructions tightly constrain the significant speed up of the Capricorn plate over the past 8 Myr and demonstrate that the history of the Indian Ocean floor deformation cannot be explained without this plate-motion change. We propose that the Capricorn plate-motion change is driven by an increase in the eastward-directed asthenospheric flow associated with the adjacent Reunion plume, and quantitatively demonstrate the viability of this hypothesis. Our inference is supported by volcanic age distributions along the Reunion hotspot track, the anomalously high residual bathymetry of the Central Indian Ridge, full-waveform seismic tomography of the underlying asthenosphere and geochemical observations from the Central Indian Ridge. These findings challenge the commonly accepted link between the deformation of the Indian Ocean floor and the Tibetan Plateau's orogenic evolution and demonstrate that temporal variations in upwelling mantle flow can drive major tectonic events at the Earth's surface.

Seasonal cycle of cross-equatorial flow in the central Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi; McPhaden, Michael J.

2017-05-01

This study investigates the seasonal cycle of meridional currents in the upper layers of central equatorial Indian Ocean using acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and other data over the period 2004-2013. The ADCP data set collected along 80.5°E is the most comprehensive collection of direct velocity measurements in the central Indian Ocean to date, providing new insights into the meridional circulation in this region. We find that mean volume transport is southward across the equator in the central Indian Ocean in approximate Sverdrup balance with the wind stress curl. In addition, mean westerly wind stress near the equator drives convergent Ekman flow in the surface layer and subsurface divergent geostrophic flow in the thermocline at 50-150 m depths. In response to a mean northward component of the surface wind stress, the maximum surface layer convergence is shifted off the equator to between 0.5° and 1°N. Evidence is also presented for the existence of a shallow equatorial roll consisting of a northward wind-driven surface drift overlaying the southward directed subsurface Sverdrup transport. Seasonal variations are characterized by cross-equatorial transports flowing from the summer to the winter hemisphere in quasi-steady Sverdrup balance with the wind stress curl. In addition, semiannually varying westerly monsoon transition winds lead to semiannual enhancements of surface layer Ekman convergence and geostrophic divergence in the thermocline. These results quantify expectations from ocean circulation theories for equatorial Indian Ocean meridional circulation patterns with a high degree of confidence given the length of the data records.

Liver lipids of Indian and Atlantic Ocean spinner Carcharhinus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Shark liver oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially the n3 moieties. Data on the liver fatty acids of sharks from African waters, however, are limited. Liver samples from sharks from the western Indian Ocean off the east coast of South Africa and those from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico were examined.

Minima of interannual sea-level variability in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shankar, D.; Aparna, S.G.; Mc; Suresh, I.; Neetu, S.; Durand, F.; Shenoi, S.S.C.; Al Saafani, M.A.

of interannual sea-level variability in the Indian Ocean D. Shankar a ,S.G.Aparna a ,J.P.McCreary b ,I.Suresh a , S. Neetu a ,F.Durand c , S. S. C. Shenoi a , M. A. Al Saafani a,d a National Institute of Oceanography,Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India. b SOEST..., for example,the reviewby Schott and McCreary, 2001) implies that changes in sea level can be forced at a given loca- tion by winds blowing elsewhere earlier in the season. This phenomenon, called remote forcing, “merges the equatorial Indian Ocean, the Arabian...

Soldiers, Artisans, Cultivators and Revolutionaries: The Movement of Sikhs in the Indian Ocean

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Anjali Gera Roy

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The geography of Punjab, a land-locked region divided between India and Pakistan, makes it an unlikely player in oceanic sojourns. But imperial interventions in Punjab in the middle of the 19th century triggered movements from Punjab that inserted this region in the littoral narrative of the Indian Ocean. Unlike the movements of lascars and traders, who have been central to the revisionist histories of the Indian Ocean, those from Punjab have not featured in oceanic dialogues. The absence of Sikhs in Indian Ocean studies is largely due to the silence of Sikh soldiers, skilled craftsmen and cultivators with largely rural roots who were uprooted to strange lands. The confusion of Sikhs with Hindus, Muslims and, even Afghans, in the colonial era, as well as the classification of Punjabi Muslims as Pakistani in the post-colonial, further problematizes the Sikh migration narrative. Drawing on a wide range of official and unofficial historical sources, this essay argues that twin developments in Punjab, namely the construction of Sikhs as ‘a martial race’ and their integration into the imperial capitalist economy, connects the movements of soldiers and policemen to Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements and Kenya with those of skilled artisans to Mombasa and Uganda. Keywords: Sikhs, Indian Ocean, labour migration, cultural identity

On the radiocarbon record in banded corals: exchange parameters and net transport of 14CO2 between atmosphere and surface ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Druffel, E.M.; Suess, H.E.

1983-01-01

We have made radiocarbon measurements of banded hermatypic corals from Florida, Belize, and the Galapagos Islands. Interpretation is presented here of these previously reported results. These measurements represent the 14 C/ 12 C ratios in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIOC) in the surface ocean waters of the Gulf Stream and the Peru Current at the time of coral ring formation. A depletion in radiocarbon concentration was observed incoral rings that grew from A.D. 1900--1952. It was caused by dilution of existing 14 C levels with dead CO 2 from fossil fuel burning (the Suess effect, or S/sub e/). A similar trend was observed in the distribution of bomb-produced 14 C in corals that had grown during the years following A.D. 1952. The concentration of bomb-produced radiocarbon was much higher in corals from temperate regions (Florida, Belize, Hawaiian Islands) than in corals from tropical regions (Galapagos Islands and Canton Island). The apparent radiocarbon ages of the surface waters in temperate and tropical oceans during the preanthropogenic period range from about 280 to 520 years B.P. (-40 to -69%). At all investigated locations, it is likely that waters at subsurface depths have the same apparent radiocarbon age of about 670 years B.P. From the change of oceanic δ 14 C in the surface during post-bomb times, the approximate annual rate of net input of 14 CO 2 to the ocean waters is calculated to be about 8% of the prevailing 14 C difference between atmosphere and ocean. From this input and from preanthropogenic δ 14 C values found at each location, it can be seen that vertical mixing of water in the Peru Current is about 3 times greater than that in the Gulf Stream

Coral and mollusc resistance to ocean acidification adversely affected by warming

OpenAIRE

Rodolfo-Metalpa, R; Houlbrèque, F; Tambutté, E; Boisson, F; Baggini, C; Patti, FP; Jeffree, R; Fine, M; Foggo, A; Gattuso, JP; Hall-Spencer, JM

2011-01-01

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations are expectedto decrease surface ocean pH by 0.3-0.5 units by 2100 (refs,), lowering the carbonate ion concentration of surfacewaters. This rapid acidification is predicted to dramatically decrease calcification in many marine organisms. Reduced skeletal growth under increased CO 2 levels has already been shown for corals, molluscs and many other marine organisms. The impact of acidification on the ability of individual species to cal...

Elders recall an earlier tsunami on Indian Ocean shores

Science.gov (United States)

Kakar, Din Mohammad; Naeem, Ghazala; Usman, Abdullah; Hasan, Haider; Lohdi, Hira; Srinivasalu, Seshachalam; Andrade, Vanessa; Rajendran, C.P.; Naderi Beni, Abdolmajid; Hamzeh, Mohammad Ali; Hoffmann, Goesta; Al Balushi, Noora; Gale, Nora; Kodijat, Ardito; Fritz, Hermann M.; Atwater, Brian F.

2014-01-01

Ten years on, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 still looms large in efforts to reduce coastal risk. The disaster has spurred worldwide advances in tsunami detection and warning, tsunami-risk assessment, and tsunami awareness [Satake, 2014]. Nearly a lifetime has passed since the northwestern Indian Ocean last produced a devastating tsunami. Documentation of this tsunami, in November 1945, was hindered by international instability in the wake of the Second World War and, in British India, by the approach of independence and partition. The parent earthquake, of magnitude 8.1, was widely recorded, and the tsunami registered on tide gauges, but intelligence reports and newspaper articles say little about inundation limits while permitting a broad range of catalogued death tolls. What has been established about the 1945 tsunami falls short of what's needed today for ground-truthing inundation models, estimating risk to enlarged populations, and anchoring awareness campaigns in local facts. Recent efforts to reduce coastal risk around the Arabian Sea include a project in which eyewitnesses to the 1945 tsunami were found and interviewed (Fig. 1), and related archives were gathered. Results are being made available through UNESCO's Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Center in hopes of increasing scientific understanding and public awareness of the region's tsunami hazards.

Seasonal variations of thermocline circulation and ventilation in the Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

You, Yuzhu

1997-05-01

Two seasonal hydrographic data sets, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients, are used in a mixing model which combines cluster analysis with optimum multiparameter analysis to determine the spreading and mixing of the thermocline waters in the Indian Ocean. The mixing model comprises a system of four major source water masses, which were identified in the thermocline through cluster analysis. They are Indian Central Water (ICW), North Indian Central Water (NICW) interpreted as aged ICW, Australasian Mediterranean Water (AAMW), and Red Sea Water (RSW)/Persian Gulf Water (PGW). The mixing ratios of these water masses are quantified and mapped on four isopycnal surfaces which span the thermocline from 150 to 600 m in the northern Indian Ocean, on two meridional sections along 60°E and 90°E, and on two zonal sections along 10°S and 6°N. The mixing ratios and pathways of the thermocline water masses show large seasonal variations, particularly in the upper 400-500 m of the thermocline. The most prominent signal of seasonal variation occurs in the Somali Current, the western boundary current, which appears only during the SW (summer) monsoon. The northward spreading of ICW into the equatorial and northern Indian Ocean is by way of the Somali Current centered at 300-400 m on the σθ=26.7 isopycnal surface during the summer monsoon and of the Equatorial Countercurrent during the NE (winter) monsoon. More ICW carried into the northern Indian Ocean during the summer monsoon is seen clearly in the zonal section along 6°N. NICW spreads southward through the western Indian Ocean and is stronger during the winter monsoon. AAMW appears in both seasons but is slightly stronger during the summer in the upper thermocline. The westward flow of AAMW is by way of the South Equatorial Current and slightly bends to the north on the σθ=26.7 isopycnal surface during the summer monsoon, indicative of its contribution to the western boundary current. Outflow

The ocean-atmosphere response to wind-induced thermocline changes in the tropical South Western Indian Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manola, Iris; Selten, F. M.; De Ruijter, W. P M; Hazeleger, W.

2014-01-01

In the Indian Ocean basin the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are most sensitive to changes in the oceanic depth of the thermocline in the region of the Seychelles Dome. Observational studies have suggested that the strong SST variations in this region influence the atmospheric evolution around the

Stratification of zooplankton in the northwestern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Paulinose, V.T.; Gopalakrishnan, T.C.; Nair, K.K.C.; Aravindakshan, P.N.

Study on stratification of zooplankton in the north western Indian Ocean was carried out with special reference to its relative abundance and distribution. Samples were collected using multiple plankton net, during first cruise of ORV Sagar Kanya...

Bothid larvae (Pleuronectiformes-Pisces) of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Devi, C.B.L.

the Indian Ocean, their regional, seasonal as well as diurnal variations. Engyprosopon grandisquamis dominated contributing to 23.2% of the total larvae. Numerically the incidence of bothid larvae suggested a uniform pattern of distribution during the two...

Ocean acidification effects on Caribbean scleractinian coral calcification using a recirculating system: a novel approach to OA research

Science.gov (United States)

Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are likely to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than any other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) has been documented in numerous species of corals in both laboratory and field studies....

Internal constitution of manganese nodules from the Central Indian Ocean basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ghosh, A.K.; Mukhopadhyay, R.

Morphological, chemical, physical and acoustic properties of Mn-nodules in the the Indian Ocean are inter-linked and depend much on local and regional oceanic environments. These nodules are anisotropic and sound propagation is faster parallel...

Carbonate preservation during the 'mystery interval' in the northern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naik, S.S.; Naidu, P.D.

maximum is a feature noted across the world oceans and considered to signify carbonate preservation, although it is missing from many sediment cores from the eastern equatorial Pacific, tropical Atlantic and subtropical Indian Ocean The carbonate...

An initial assessment of Ocean Energy Resources in the Western Indian Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammar, Linus; Ehnberg, Jimmy

2011-07-01

The demand for modern energy is accelerating in the Western Indian Ocean (coastal East Africa). A mixture of different energy sources will by necessity be the option for the long-term future and the most adequate solutions naturally vary between locations. The vast coastlines and many islands of the region make ocean energy (OE) a relevant field to explore. With an early understanding of the resources strategic planning towards sustainable development is facilitate. Moreover, early awareness facilitates a respectful integration of new technologies in the fragile and for local people invaluable ecosystems. This study provides a first assessment of the frontier OE technologies and corresponding resources in the region. Five renewable Ocean Energy technologies have been reviewed and the physical resource abundance for respective energy source has been screened based on available literature and databases. The Western Indian Ocean is shared between nine African countries and two French departments. The studied countries are the Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Tanzania, and Reunion. The energy situation is insufficient throughout the region, either as consequence of lacking domestic energy sources or rudimentary grid extension. The results indicate that ocean energy resources are abundant in much of the region, but different sources have potential in different areas. Several countries have favourable physical conditions for extracting energy from waves and from the temperature gradient between the surface and deep water. Wave power is a young but currently available technology which can be utilized for both large- and small-scale applications. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is a technology under development that, once proven, may be applicable for large-scale power production. The physical conditions for small-scale tidal barrage power, tidal stream power, and ocean current power are less pronounced but may be of interest at

Responses of calcification of massive and encrusting corals to past, present, and near-future ocean carbon dioxide concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iguchi, Akira; Kumagai, Naoki H.; Nakamura, Takashi; Suzuki, Atsushi; Sakai, Kazuhiko; Nojiri, Yukihiro

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Growth rates of two corals in the acidified seawater were evaluated. • Highest growth rates were observed in pre-industrial pCO 2 level. • The growth rates also decreased in the near-future ocean acidification level. • The growth responses were affected by variations of parameters of carbon chemistry. • Bayesian modeling approach was effective for the inference of the best model. - Abstract: In this study, we report the acidification impact mimicking the pre-industrial, the present, and near-future oceans on calcification of two coral species (Porites australiensis, Isopora palifera) by using precise pCO 2 control system which can produce acidified seawater under stable pCO 2 values with low variations. In the analyses, we performed Bayesian modeling approaches incorporating the variations of pCO 2 and compared the results between our modeling approach and classical statistical one. The results showed highest calcification rates in pre-industrial pCO 2 level and gradual decreases of calcification in the near-future ocean acidification level, which suggests that ongoing and near-future ocean acidification would negatively impact coral calcification. In addition, it was expected that the variations of parameters of carbon chemistry may affect the inference of the best model on calcification responses to these parameters between Bayesian modeling approach and classical statistical one even under stable pCO 2 values with low variations

Teleconnections of the tropical Atlantic to the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. A review of recent findings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Chunzai [NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab., Miami, FL (United States); Kucharski, Fred; Barimalala, Rondrotiana [The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Earth System Physics, Section Trieste (Italy); Bracco, Annalisa [School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia, Inst. of Tech., Atlanta, GA (United States)

2009-08-15

Recent studies found that tropical Atlantic variability may affect the climate in both the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean basins, possibly modulating the Indian summer monsoon and Pacific ENSO events. A warm tropical Atlantic Ocean forces a Gill-Matsuno-type quadrupole response with a low-level anticyclone located over India that weakens the Indian monsoon circulation, and vice versa for a cold tropical Atlantic Ocean. The tropical Atlantic Ocean can also induce changes in the Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs). especially along the coast of Africa and in the western side of the Indian basin. Additionally, it can influence the tropical Pacific Ocean via an atmospheric teleconnection that is associated with the Atlantic Walker circulation. Although the Pacific El Nino does not contemporaneously correlate with the Atlantic Nino, anomalous warming or cooling of the two equatorial oceans can form an inter-basin SST gradient that induces surface zonal wind anomalies over equatorial South America and other regions in both ocean basins. The zonal wind anomalies act as a bridge linking the two ocean basins, and in turn reinforce the inter-basin SST gradient through the atmospheric Walker circulation and oceanic processes. Thus, a positive feedback seems to exist for climate variability of the tropical Pacific-Atlantic Oceans and atmospheric system, in which the inter-basin SST gradient is coupled to the overlying atmospheric wind. (orig.)

A Survey of Selected Coral and Fish Assemblages Near the Waianae Ocean Outfall, Oahu, Hawaii, 1990-1999 (NODC Accession 0000794)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — During 1990-1999, coral growth and fish abundance were monitored at stations located at and in the vicinity of the Waianae Ocean Outfall. Comparisons of results with...

A survey of selected coral and fish assemblages near the Waianae Ocean Outfall, Oahu, Hawaii, 1990-1999 (NODC Accession 0000794)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — During 1990-1999, coral growth and fish abundance were monitored at stations located at and in the vicinity of the Waianae Ocean Outfall. Comparisons of results with...

Surveys of Selected Coral and Fish Assemblages Adjacent to the Waianae Ocean Outfall, Oahu, Hawaii, 2003-2010 (NODC Accession 0084515)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Since 1990, biota of the coral reef ecosystems have been annualy monitored at stations located at and in the vicinity of the Waianae Ocean Sewage Outfall. NODC...

Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway observations using Autonomous sensor to measure dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments from Hakuho Maru in the Bismarck Sea, Coral Sea and others from 1990-09-03 to 2002-01-21 (NODC Accession 0080982)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0080982 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from Hakuho Maru in the Bismarck Sea, Coral Sea, Indian Ocean,...

Measuring coral calcification under ocean acidification: methodological considerations for the 45Ca-uptake and total alkalinity anomaly technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Cohen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available As the oceans become less alkaline due to rising CO2 levels, deleterious consequences are expected for calcifying corals. Predicting how coral calcification will be affected by on-going ocean acidification (OA requires an accurate assessment of CaCO3 deposition and an understanding of the relative importance that decreasing calcification and/or increasing dissolution play for the overall calcification budget of individual corals. Here, we assessed the compatibility of the 45Ca-uptake and total alkalinity (TA anomaly techniques as measures of gross and net calcification (GC, NC, respectively, to determine coral calcification at pHT 8.1 and 7.5. Considering the differing buffering capacity of seawater at both pH values, we were also interested in how strongly coral calcification alters the seawater carbonate chemistry under prolonged incubation in sealed chambers, potentially interfering with physiological functioning. Our data indicate that NC estimates by TA are erroneously ∼5% and ∼21% higher than GC estimates from 45Ca for ambient and reduced pH, respectively. Considering also previous data, we show that the consistent discrepancy between both techniques across studies is not constant, but largely depends on the absolute value of CaCO3 deposition. Deriving rates of coral dissolution from the difference between NC and GC was not possible and we advocate a more direct approach for the future by simultaneously measuring skeletal calcium influx and efflux. Substantial changes in carbonate system parameters for incubation times beyond two hours in our experiment demonstrate the necessity to test and optimize experimental incubation setups when measuring coral calcification in closed systems, especially under OA conditions.

Biogeochemical studies of selenium in the Indian Ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattori, H.; Nakaguchi, Y.; Hiraki, K.; Kimura, M.; Koike, Y.

1999-01-01

Selenium that is a one of trace essential elements exists mainly in the chemical form of Se(IV), Se(VI) and organic selenium in ocean. Moreover, the monitoring of the selenium species has become a matter of interest as a mean of estimating their influence in biological processes in ocean. In recent works, some investigators reported that Se(IV) shows nutrient-type especially like silica's behavior, Se(VI) shows an approximately constant value, and the biological activities control the distribution of organic selenium. However, these reports were not included the whole world's oceans. It is necessary to research several oceans for the explication of fate on selenium. We investigated at the most interesting area - the Eastern Indian Ocean where should play a key role in global ocean's cycle for acquiring the new knowledge of selenium species at first

Climatic Constraints on Growth Rate and Geochemistry (Sr/Ca and U/Ca) of the Coral Siderastrea stellata in the Southwest Equatorial Atlantic (Rocas Atoll, Brazil)

Science.gov (United States)

Evangelista, H.; Sifeddine, A.; Corrège, T.; Servain, J.; Dassié, E. P.; Logato, R.; Cordeiro, R. C.; Shen, C.-C.; Le Cornec, F.; Nogueira, J.; Segal, B.; Castagna, A.; Turcq, B.

2018-03-01

Although relatively rare compared to similar latitudes in the Pacific or Indian Oceans, massive coral colonies are present in the Tropical/Equatorial Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. However, detailed geochemical compositions of these corals are still largely unknown. In this work, we present growth rates, Sr/Ca, and U/Ca ratios of the coral colony (Siderastrea stellata) sampled at Rocas Atoll, off the Brazilian coast. These variables are primarily affected by sea surface temperature (SST) at seasonal scale, and by wind stress at interannual scale, these results represent a broad new finding. A lower significance at the interannual time scale between Sr/Ca and U/Ca with respect to SST is attributed to the low SST amplitude closed to Equator. An investigation on the dependence of coral growth rates with respect to the "cloud shading effect" promoted by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) does not show significant influence. Additionally, rain seems to act on local geochemistry of Sr/Ca ratios and growth rate at the decadal scale.

The warm pool in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vinayachandran, P.N.; Shetye, S.R.

is larger and warmer, a peculiarity of the pool in the Indian Ocean is its seasonal variation. The surface area of the pool changes from 24 x 106 km2 in April to 8 x 106 km2 in September due to interaction with the southwest monsoon. The annual cycles of sea...

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science (WIOJMS) provides an avenue for ... Effects of blood meal as a substitute for fish meal in the culture of juvenile Silver ... area of eastern Africa: the case of Quirimbas National Park, Mozambique ... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Zooplankton biomass and abundance of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba DANA in Indian Ocean sector of the southern ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ingole, B.S.; Parulekar, A.H.

Zooplankton sampling was carried out during the first six Indian Scientific Expeditions to Antarctica (1981-1987) to estimate krill abundance in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (between 35 to 70 degrees S and 10 to 52 degrees E). This study...

Growth tradeoffs associated with thermotolerant symbionts in the coral Pocillopora damicornis are lost in warmer oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Cunning, R.; Gillette, P.; Capo, T.; Galvez, K.; Baker, A. C.

2015-03-01

The growth and survival of reef corals are influenced by their symbiotic algal partners ( Symbiodinium spp.), which may be flexible in space and time. Tradeoffs among partnerships exist such that corals with thermotolerant symbionts (e.g., clade D) resist bleaching but grow more slowly, making the long-term ecosystem-level impacts of different host-symbiont associations uncertain. However, much of this uncertainty is due to limited data regarding these tradeoffs and particularly how they are mediated by the environment. To address this knowledge gap, we measured growth and survival of Pocillopora damicornis with thermally sensitive (clade C) or tolerant (clade D) symbionts at three temperatures over 18-55 weeks. Warming reduced coral growth overall, but altered the tradeoffs associated with symbiont type. While clade D corals grew 35-40 % slower than clade C corals at cooler temperatures (26 °C), warming of 1.5-3 °C reduced and eliminated this growth disadvantage. These results suggest that although warmer oceans will negatively impact corals, clade D may enhance survival at no cost to growth relative to clade C. Understanding these genotype-environment interactions can help improve modeling efforts and conservation strategies for reefs under global climate change.

Calcification in Caribbean reef-building corals at high pCO2 levels in a recirculating ocean acidification exposure system

Science.gov (United States)

Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are anticipated to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) have been documented in numerous species of corals in laboratory studies, largely test...

Modeling regional coral reef responses to global warming and changes in ocean chemistry: Caribbean case study

Science.gov (United States)

Buddemeier, R.W.; Lane, D.R.; Martinich, J.A.

2011-01-01

Climatic change threatens the future of coral reefs in the Caribbean and the important ecosystem services they provide. We used a simulation model [Combo ("COral Mortality and Bleaching Output")] to estimate future coral cover in the part of the eastern Caribbean impacted by a massive coral bleaching event in 2005. Combo calculates impacts of future climate change on coral reefs by combining impacts from long-term changes in average sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean acidification with impacts from episodic high temperature mortality (bleaching) events. We used mortality and heat dose data from the 2005 bleaching event to select historic temperature datasets, to use as a baseline for running Combo under different future climate scenarios and sets of assumptions. Results suggest a bleak future for coral reefs in the eastern Caribbean. For three different emissions scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; B1, A1B, and A1FI), coral cover on most Caribbean reefs is projected to drop below 5% by the year 2035, if future mortality rates are equivalent to some of those observed in the 2005 event (50%). For a scenario where corals gain an additional 1-1. 5??C of heat tolerance through a shift in the algae that live in the coral tissue, coral cover above 5% is prolonged until 2065. Additional impacts such as storms or anthropogenic damage could result in declines in coral cover even faster than those projected here. These results suggest the need to identify and preserve the locations that are likely to have a higher resiliency to bleaching to save as many remnant populations of corals as possible in the face of projected wide-spread coral loss. ?? 2011 The Author(s).

Redefining Maritime Security Threats in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banerjee, Arjun [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-08-01

This occasional paper analyzes the general security issues and trends relating to maritime trafficking of radiological and nuclear material using small vessels, minor ports, and unchecked areas of coastline existing in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region today. By the Eastern Indian Ocean Region is meant the area starting from the tip of the Indian peninsula in the west to the Straits of Malacca in the east. It lays focus on the potential sources of nuclear or radiological material that may be trafficked here. It further undertakes a study of the terrorist groups active in the region as well as the multinational or national interdiction organizations that have been created to counter maritime threats. It also seeks to discern the various technologies for detecting materials of concern available in the area. Finally, it ascertains possible methods and technologies to improve the maritime security system in the region.

Differential Heating in the Indian Ocean Differentially Modulates Precipitation in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Basins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Shahriar Pervez

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Indo-Pacific sea surface temperature dynamics play a prominent role in Asian summer monsoon variability. Two interactive climate modes of the Indo-Pacific—the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO and the Indian Ocean dipole mode—modulate the amount of precipitation over India, in addition to precipitation over Africa, Indonesia, and Australia. However, this modulation is not spatially uniform. The precipitation in southern India is strongly forced by the Indian Ocean dipole mode and ENSO. In contrast, across northern India, encompassing the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, the climate mode influence on precipitation is much less. Understanding the forcing of precipitation in these river basins is vital for food security and ecosystem services for over half a billion people. Using 28 years of remote sensing observations, we demonstrate that (i the tropical west-east differential heating in the Indian Ocean influences the Ganges precipitation and (ii the north-south differential heating in the Indian Ocean influences the Brahmaputra precipitation. The El Niño phase induces warming in the warm pool of the Indian Ocean and exerts more influence on Ganges precipitation than Brahmaputra precipitation. The analyses indicate that both the magnitude and position of the sea surface temperature anomalies in the Indian Ocean are important drivers for precipitation dynamics that can be effectively summarized using two new indices, one tuned for each basin. These new indices have the potential to aid forecasting of drought and flooding, to contextualize land cover and land use change, and to assess the regional impacts of climate change.

Differential heating in the Indian Ocean differentially modulates precipitation in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins

Science.gov (United States)

Pervez, Md Shahriar; Henebry, Geoffrey M.

2016-01-01

Indo-Pacific sea surface temperature dynamics play a prominent role in Asian summer monsoon variability. Two interactive climate modes of the Indo-Pacific—the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean dipole mode—modulate the amount of precipitation over India, in addition to precipitation over Africa, Indonesia, and Australia. However, this modulation is not spatially uniform. The precipitation in southern India is strongly forced by the Indian Ocean dipole mode and ENSO. In contrast, across northern India, encompassing the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, the climate mode influence on precipitation is much less. Understanding the forcing of precipitation in these river basins is vital for food security and ecosystem services for over half a billion people. Using 28 years of remote sensing observations, we demonstrate that (i) the tropical west-east differential heating in the Indian Ocean influences the Ganges precipitation and (ii) the north-south differential heating in the Indian Ocean influences the Brahmaputra precipitation. The El Niño phase induces warming in the warm pool of the Indian Ocean and exerts more influence on Ganges precipitation than Brahmaputra precipitation. The analyses indicate that both the magnitude and position of the sea surface temperature anomalies in the Indian Ocean are important drivers for precipitation dynamics that can be effectively summarized using two new indices, one tuned for each basin. These new indices have the potential to aid forecasting of drought and flooding, to contextualize land cover and land use change, and to assess the regional impacts of climate change.

78 FR 67128 - Coral Reef Conservation Program; Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-08

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program; Meeting AGENCY: Coral Reef Conservation Program, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management... meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF). The meeting will be held in Christiansted, U.S. Virgin...

Macrofaunal diversity in the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pavithran, S.; Ingole, B.S.; Nanajkar, M.; Nath, B.N.

to the increasing interest of mankind in the non-living resources and destructive deep-sea fishing practices present in these areas. The polymetallic nodule is one such resource, looked upon as an alternative to land-based minerals. The Central Indian Ocean Basin...

Geochemical variability of MORBs along slow to intermediate spreading Carlsberg-Central Indian Ridge, Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ray, D.; Misra, S.; Banerjee, R.

). The mixing trend definitely excludes EM1 [dehydrated and recrystallized oceanic basalt formed during subduction plus 5-10% marine pelagic sediment, Weaver, 1991], EM2 [dehydrated and recrystallized oceanic basalt formed during subduction plus 5... are plotted on or close to the mixing line between the average depleted mantle and the Indian Ocean Pelagic sediments, and this mixing line excludes the EM1, EM2 and HIMU (Fig. 12, c, e). The CR, NCIR and SCIR MORBs are closer to the average depleted...

Retrieval of sea surface air temperature from satellite data over Indian Ocean: An empirical approach

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sathe, P.V.; Muraleedharan, P.M.

the sea surface air temperature from satellite derived sea surface humidity in the Indian Ocean. Using the insitu data on surface met parameters collected on board O.R.V. Sagar Kanya in the Indian Ocean over a period of 15 years, the relationship between...

Distribution of pelagic harpacticoid copepods from the Indian ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Haridas, P.; Rao, T.S.S.

Pelagic harpacticoid copepods have been studied from the International Indian Ocean Expedition collections. Macrosetella gracilis and Miracia efferata were the most common species of harpacticoids with high densities near land masses. Other three...

Impact of improved momentum transfer coefficients on the dynamics and thermodynamics of the north Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Parekh, Anant; Gnanaseelan, C.; Jayakumar, A.

2011-01-01

Long time series of in situ observations from the north Indian Ocean are used to compute the momentum transfer coefficients over the north Indian Ocean. The transfer coefficients behave nonlinearly for low winds (<4 m/s), when most of the known empirical relations assume linear relations. Impact of momentum transfer coefficients on the upper ocean parameters is studied using an ocean general circulation model. The model experiments revealed that the Arabian Sea and Equatorial Indian Ocean are more sensitive to the momentum transfer coefficients than the Bay of Bengal and south Indian Ocean. The impact of momentum transfer coefficients on sea surface temperature is up to 0.3°C-0.4°C, on mixed layer depth is up to 10 m, and on thermocline depth is up to 15 m. Furthermore, the impact on the zonal current is maximum over the equatorial Indian Ocean (i.e., about 0.12 m/s in May and 0.15 m/s in October; both May and October are the period of Wyrtki jets and the difference in current has potential impact on the seasonal mass transport). The Sverdrup transport has maximum impact in the Bay of Bengal (3 to 4 Sv in August), whereas the Ekman transport has maximum impact in the Arabian Sea (4 Sv during May to July). These highlight the potential impact of accurate momentum forcing on the results from current ocean models.

Differential Effects of Ocean Acidification on Coral Calcification: Insights from Geochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Holcomb, M.; Decarlo, T. M.; Venn, A.; Tambutte, E.; Gaetani, G. A.; Tambutte, S.; Allemand, D.; McCulloch, M. T.

2014-12-01

Although ocean acidification is expected to negatively impact calcifying animals due to the formation of CaCO3 becoming less favorable, experimental evidence is mixed. Corals have received considerable attention in this regard; laboratory culture experiments show there to be a wide array of calcification responses to acidification. Here we will show how relationships for the incorporation of various trace elements and boron isotopes into synthetic aragonite can be used to reconstruct carbonate chemistry at the site of calcification. In turn the chemistry at the site of calcification can be determined under different ocean acidification scenarios and differences in the chemistry at the site of calcification linked to different calcification responses to acidification. Importantly we will show that the pH of the calcifying fluid alone is insufficient to estimate calcification responses, thus a multi-proxy approach using multiple trace elements and isotopes is required to understand how the site of calcification is affected by ocean acidification.

Cryptic diversity in Indo-Pacific coral-reef fishes revealed by DNA-barcoding provides new support to the centre-of-overlap hypothesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Hubert

Full Text Available Diversity in coral reef fishes is not evenly distributed and tends to accumulate in the Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago (IMPA. The comprehension of the mechanisms that initiated this pattern is in its infancy despite its importance for the conservation of coral reefs. Considering the IMPA either as an area of overlap or a cradle of marine biodiversity, the hypotheses proposed to account for this pattern rely on extant knowledge about taxonomy and species range distribution. The recent large-scale use of standard molecular data (DNA barcoding, however, has revealed the importance of taking into account cryptic diversity when assessing tropical biodiversity. We DNA barcoded 2276 specimens belonging to 668 coral reef fish species through a collaborative effort conducted concomitantly in both Indian and Pacific oceans to appraise the importance of cryptic diversity in species with an Indo-Pacific distribution range. Of the 141 species sampled on each side of the IMPA, 62 presented no spatial structure whereas 67 exhibited divergent lineages on each side of the IMPA with K2P distances ranging between 1% and 12%, and 12 presented several lineages with K2P distances ranging between 3% and 22%. Thus, from this initial pool of 141 nominal species with Indo-Pacific distribution, 79 dissolved into 165 biological units among which 162 were found in a single ocean. This result is consistent with the view that the IMPA accumulates diversity as a consequence of its geological history, its location on the junction between the two main tropical oceans and the presence of a land bridge during glacial times in the IMPA that fostered allopatric divergence and secondary contacts between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Cryptic diversity in Indo-Pacific coral-reef fishes revealed by DNA-barcoding provides new support to the centre-of-overlap hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hubert, Nicolas; Meyer, Christopher P; Bruggemann, Henrich J; Guérin, Fabien; Komeno, Roberto J L; Espiau, Benoit; Causse, Romain; Williams, Jeffrey T; Planes, Serge

2012-01-01

Diversity in coral reef fishes is not evenly distributed and tends to accumulate in the Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago (IMPA). The comprehension of the mechanisms that initiated this pattern is in its infancy despite its importance for the conservation of coral reefs. Considering the IMPA either as an area of overlap or a cradle of marine biodiversity, the hypotheses proposed to account for this pattern rely on extant knowledge about taxonomy and species range distribution. The recent large-scale use of standard molecular data (DNA barcoding), however, has revealed the importance of taking into account cryptic diversity when assessing tropical biodiversity. We DNA barcoded 2276 specimens belonging to 668 coral reef fish species through a collaborative effort conducted concomitantly in both Indian and Pacific oceans to appraise the importance of cryptic diversity in species with an Indo-Pacific distribution range. Of the 141 species sampled on each side of the IMPA, 62 presented no spatial structure whereas 67 exhibited divergent lineages on each side of the IMPA with K2P distances ranging between 1% and 12%, and 12 presented several lineages with K2P distances ranging between 3% and 22%. Thus, from this initial pool of 141 nominal species with Indo-Pacific distribution, 79 dissolved into 165 biological units among which 162 were found in a single ocean. This result is consistent with the view that the IMPA accumulates diversity as a consequence of its geological history, its location on the junction between the two main tropical oceans and the presence of a land bridge during glacial times in the IMPA that fostered allopatric divergence and secondary contacts between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Cerium anomaly variations in ferromanganese nodules and crusts from the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nath, B.N.; Roelandts, I.; Sudhakar, M.; Pluger, W.L.; Balaram, V.

Fifty analyses of rare earth elements as well as mineralogical studies have been carried out on a suite of manganese nodules and crusts from the Central Indian Basin and the Western Indian Ocean. The aim was to identify the processes controlling...

The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming

OpenAIRE

Castillo, Karl D.; Ries, Justin B.; Bruno, John F.; Westfield, Isaac T.

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1–0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1–4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-...

Physiological and isotopic responses of scleractinian corals to ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Krief, Shani; Hendy, Erica J.; Fine, Maoz; Yam, Ruth; Meibom, Anders; Foster, Gavin L.; Shemesh, Aldo

2010-09-01

Uptake of anthropogenic CO 2 by the oceans is altering seawater chemistry with potentially serious consequences for coral reef ecosystems due to the reduction of seawater pH and aragonite saturation state ( Ωarag). The objectives of this long-term study were to investigate the viability of two ecologically important reef-building coral species, massive Porites sp. and Stylophora pistillata, exposed to high pCO 2 (or low pH) conditions and to observe possible changes in physiologically related parameters as well as skeletal isotopic composition. Fragments of Porites sp. and S. pistillata were kept for 6-14 months under controlled aquarium conditions characterized by normal and elevated pCO 2 conditions, corresponding to pH T values of 8.09, 7.49, and 7.19, respectively. In contrast with shorter, and therefore more transient experiments, the long experimental timescale achieved in this study ensures complete equilibration and steady state with the experimental environment and guarantees that the data provide insights into viable and stably growing corals. During the experiments, all coral fragments survived and added new skeleton, even at seawater Ωarag zooxanthellae, along with physiological data (such as skeletal growth, tissue biomass, zooxanthellae cell density, and chlorophyll concentration) allow for a direct comparison with corals living under normal conditions and sampled simultaneously. Skeletal growth and zooxanthellae density were found to decrease, whereas coral tissue biomass (measured as protein concentration) and zooxanthellae chlorophyll concentrations increased under high pCO 2 (low pH) conditions. Both species showed similar trends of δ 11B depletion and δ 18O enrichment under reduced pH, whereas the δ 13C results imply species-specific metabolic response to high pCO 2 conditions. The skeletal δ 11B values plot above seawater δ 11B vs. pH borate fractionation curves calculated using either the theoretically derived α B value of 1

NOAA Coral Reef Watch 25km Ocean Acidification Product Suite (OAPS) for January 1988 to the present covering the Greater Caribbean Region

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coral Reef Watch Experimental Ocean Acidification Product Suite (OAPS) offers an important synthesis of satellite and modeled environmental datasets to...

Alteration of basaltic glasses from the Central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Iyer, S.D.

Textural, mineralogical and compositional characteristics of basaltic glasses from the Central Indian Ocean show them to be altered to varying extents through their interaction with the seawater, resulting in the formation of palagonite. The major...

Population Genetic Status of the Western Indian Ocean

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract—Population genetics offers a useful technique for studying the population structure of marine organisms and has relevance to both systematics and the conservation of biodiversity. The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is faced with increasing evidence of degradation and effective management initiatives are needed to ...

Oceanographic cruise Indian Ocean and Java Trench June 1969 (NODC Accession 7100908)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This report contains oceanographic data which was obtained aboard H.M.A.S DIAMANTINA during an oceanographic cruise in the Java Trench and the Indian Ocean during...

IndOBIS, an Ocean Biogeographic Information System for assessment and conservation of Indian Ocean biodiversity

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chavan, V.S.; Achuthankutty, C.T.; Berghe, E.V.; Wafar, M.V.M.

Compilation of inventories of components of coastal and marine biodiversity of Indian Ocean is hampered by several factors: low effort by some countries, preference to certain taxon, dwindling taxonomic expertise, low infrastructure of Information...

TOGA Sea Level Center: Data from the Indian Ocean (NODC Accession 9000251)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a scan of the analog publication 'TOGA Sea Level Center: Data from the Indian Ocean'. Abstract from p. iii of the publication: The TOGA Sea...

Third Indian National Conference on Harbour and Ocean Engineering (INCHOE - 2004). Proceedings

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mandal, S.; SanilKumar, V.; Jayakumar, S.

The two volumes contain 103 scientific papers in the field of harbour and ocean engineering, presented at the Third Indian National Conference on Harbour and Ocean Engineering (INCHOE - 2004), held at National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dona...

A new atlas of temperature and salinity for the North Indian Ocean

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The most used temperature and salinity climatology for the world ocean, including the Indian Ocean, is the World Ocean Atlas (WOA) (Antonov et al 2006, 2010; Locarnini et al 2006, 2010) because of the vast amount of data used in its preparation. The WOA climatology does not, however, include all the available ...

Oceanographic data and information network in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarupria, J.S.; Reddy, G.V.

National Oceanographic Data Centres (RNODCs) and 3 World Data Centres (WDCs) for oceanographic data /information management and exchange. Regional data/information network in the Indian Ocean is being managed by 9 NODCs and 2 RNODCs and oceanographic...

Slow spreading ridges of the Indian Ocean: An overview of marine geophysical investigations

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

KameshRaju, K.A.; Mudholkar, A.V.; Samudrala, K.

Sparse and non-availability of high resolution geophysical data hindered the delineation of accurate morphology, structural configuration, tectonism and spreading history of Carlsberg Ridge (CR) and Central Indian Ridges (CIR) in the Indian Ocean...

Occurrence of @iNeogloboquadrina pachyderma@@ new subspecies in the shelf-slope sediments of northern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Setty, M.G.A.P.

~'N in the Bay of Bengal. Studies of hydrological conditions in the Indian Ocean reveal that the Subtropical Subsurface Water Mass is traceable as far north as the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean Deep Bottom Water Mass originating in the deepest...

Indian Ocean Networks and the Transmutations of Servitude

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaarsholm, Preben

2016-01-01

Focusing on Durban and its harbour, the article discusses the importation of different kinds of transnational bonded labour into Natal in the last half of the 19th century, and examines the ways in which Southern African and Indian Ocean histories were intertwined in the processes that built the ...

Influences of two types of El Niño event on the Northwest Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean SST anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Haibo; Wu, Qigang; Wu, Zepeng

2018-01-01

Based on the HadISST1 and NCEP datasets, we investigated the influences of the central Pacific El Niño event (CP-EL) and eastern Pacific El Niño event (EP-EL) on the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies of the Tropical Indian Ocean. Considering the remote effect of Indian Ocean warming, we also discussed the anticyclone anomalies over the Northwest Pacific, which is very important for the South China precipitation and East Asian climate. Results show that during the El Niño developing year of EP-EL, cold SST anomalies appear and intensify in the east of tropical Indian Ocean. At the end of that autumn, all the cold SST anomaly events lead to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events. Basin uniform warm SST anomalies exist in the Indian Ocean in the whole summer of EL decaying year for both CP-and EP-ELs. However, considering the statistical significance, more significant warm SST anomalies only appear in the North Indian Ocean among the June and August of EP-EL decaying year. For further research, EP-EL accompany with Indian Ocean Basin Warming (EPI-EL) and CP El Niño accompany with Indian Ocean Basin Warming (CPI-EL) events are classified. With the remote effects of Indian Ocean SST anomalies, the EPI-and CPI-ELs contribute quite differently to the Northwest Pacific. For the EPI-EL developing year, large-scale warm SST anomalies arise in the North Indian Ocean in May, and persist to the autumn of the El Niño decaying year. However, for the CPI-EL, weak warm SST anomalies in the North Indian Ocean maintain to the El Niño decaying spring. Because of these different SST anomalies in the North Indian Ocean, distinct zonal SST gradient, atmospheric anticyclone and precipitation anomalies emerge over the Northwest Pacific in the El Niño decaying years. Specifically, the large-scale North Indian Ocean warm SST anomalies during the EPI-EL decaying years, can persist to summer and force anomalous updrafts and rainfall over the North Indian Ocean. The atmospheric

Coral Sr-U Thermometry

Science.gov (United States)

DeCarlo, T. M.; Gaetani, G. A.; Cohen, A. L.; Foster, G. L.; Alpert, A.; Stewart, J.

2016-12-01

Coral skeletons archive the past two millennia of climate variability in the oceans with unrivaled temporal resolution. However, extracting accurate temperature information from coral skeletons is confounded by "vital effects", which often override the temperature dependence of geochemical proxies. Here, we present a new approach to coral paleothermometry based on results of abiogenic precipitation experiments interpreted within a framework provided by a quantitative model of the coral biomineralization process. We conducted laboratory experiments to test the temperature and carbonate chemistry controls on abiogenic partitioning of Sr/Ca and U/Ca between aragonite and seawater, and we modeled the sensitivity of skeletal composition to processes occurring at the site of calcification. The model predicts that temperature can be accurately reconstructed from coral skeleton by combining Sr/Ca and U/Ca ratios into a new proxy, Sr-U. We tested the model predictions with measured Sr/Ca and U/Ca ratios of fourteen Porites sp. corals collected from the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea, with a subset also analyzed using the boron isotope (δ11B) pH proxy. Observed relationships among Sr/Ca, U/Ca, and δ11B agree with model predictions, indicating that the model accounts for the key features of the coral biomineralization process. We calibrated Sr-U to instrumental temperature records and found that it captures 93% of mean annual variability (26-30 °C) and predicts temperature within 0.5 °C (1 σ). Conversely, Sr/Ca alone has an error of prediction of 1 °C and often diverges from observed temperature by 3 °C or more. Many of the problems afflicting Sr/Ca - including offsets among neighboring corals and decouplings from temperature during coral stress events - are reconciled by Sr-U. By accounting for the influence of the coral biomineralization process, the Sr-U thermometer may offer significantly improved reliability for reconstructing ocean temperatures from coral

Changes in bleaching susceptibility among corals subject to ocean warming and recurrent bleaching in Moorea, French Polynesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratchett, Morgan S; McCowan, Dominique; Maynard, Jeffrey A; Heron, Scott F

2013-01-01

Climate-induced coral bleaching poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems, mostly because of the sensitivities of key habitat-forming corals to increasing temperature. However, susceptibility to bleaching varies greatly among coral genera and there are likely to be major changes in the relative abundance of different corals, even if the wholesale loss of corals does not occur for several decades. Here we document variation in bleaching susceptibility among key genera of reef-building corals in Moorea, French Polynesia, and compare bleaching incidence during mass-bleaching events documented in 1991, 1994, 2002 and 2007. This study compared the proportion of colonies that bleached for four major genera of reef-building corals (Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora and Porites), during each of four well-documented bleaching events from 1991 to 2007. Acropora and Montipora consistently bleached in far greater proportions (up to 98%) than Pocillopora and Porites. However, there was an apparent and sustained decline in the proportion of colonies that bleached during successive bleaching events, especially for Acropora and Montipora. In 2007, only 77% of Acropora colonies bleached compared with 98% in 1991. Temporal variation in the proportion of coral colonies bleached may be attributable to differences in environmental conditions among years. Alternately, the sustained declines in bleaching incidence among highly susceptible corals may be indicative of acclimation or adaptation. Coral genera that are highly susceptible to coral bleaching, and especially Acropora and Montipora, exhibit temporal declines in their susceptibility to thermal anomalies at Moorea, French Polynesia. One possible explanation for these findings is that gradual removal of highly susceptible genotypes (through selective mortality of individuals, populations, and/or species) is producing a coral assemblage that is more resistant to sustained and ongoing ocean warming.

Changes in Bleaching Susceptibility among Corals Subject to Ocean Warming and Recurrent Bleaching in Moorea, French Polynesia

Science.gov (United States)

Pratchett, Morgan S.; McCowan, Dominique; Maynard, Jeffrey A.; Heron, Scott F.

2013-01-01

Background Climate-induced coral bleaching poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems, mostly because of the sensitivities of key habitat-forming corals to increasing temperature. However, susceptibility to bleaching varies greatly among coral genera and there are likely to be major changes in the relative abundance of different corals, even if the wholesale loss of corals does not occur for several decades. Here we document variation in bleaching susceptibility among key genera of reef-building corals in Moorea, French Polynesia, and compare bleaching incidence during mass-bleaching events documented in 1991, 1994, 2002 and 2007. Methodology/Principal Findings This study compared the proportion of colonies that bleached for four major genera of reef-building corals (Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora and Porites), during each of four well-documented bleaching events from 1991 to 2007. Acropora and Montipora consistently bleached in far greater proportions (up to 98%) than Pocillopora and Porites. However, there was an apparent and sustained decline in the proportion of colonies that bleached during successive bleaching events, especially for Acropora and Montipora. In 2007, only 77% of Acropora colonies bleached compared with 98% in 1991. Temporal variation in the proportion of coral colonies bleached may be attributable to differences in environmental conditions among years. Alternately, the sustained declines in bleaching incidence among highly susceptible corals may be indicative of acclimation or adaptation. Conclusions/Significance Coral genera that are highly susceptible to coral bleaching, and especially Acropora and Montipora, exhibit temporal declines in their susceptibility to thermal anomalies at Moorea, French Polynesia. One possible explanation for these findings is that gradual removal of highly susceptible genotypes (through selective mortality of individuals, populations, and/or species) is producing a coral assemblage that is more resistant to

Southern Indian Ocean SST as a modulator for the progression of Indian summer monsoon

Science.gov (United States)

Shahi, Namendra Kumar; Rai, Shailendra; Mishra, Nishant

2018-01-01

This study explores the possibility of southern Indian Ocean (SIO) sea surface temperature (SST) as a modulator for the early phase of Indian summer monsoon and its possible physical mechanism. A dipole-like structure is obtained from the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis which is similar to an Indian Ocean subtropical dipole (IOSD) found earlier. A subtropical dipole index (SDI) is defined based on the SST anomaly over the positive and negative poles. The regression map of rainfall over India in the month of June corresponding to the SDI during 1983-2013 shows negative patterns along the Western Ghats and Central India. However, the regression pattern is insignificant during 1952-1982. The multiple linear regression models and partial correlation analysis also indicate that the SDI acts as a dominant factor to influence the rainfall over India in the month of June during 1983-2013. The similar result is also obtained with the help of composite rainfall over the land points of India in the month of June for positive (negative) SDI events. It is also observed that the positive (negative) SDI delays (early) the onset dates of Indian monsoon over Kerala during the time domain of our study. The study is further extended to identify the physical mechanism of this impact, and it is found that the heating (cooling) in the region covering SDI changes the circulation pattern in the SIO and hence impacts the progression of monsoon in India.

Climate of the northern Indian Ocean and associated productivity

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sastry, J.S.; Gopinathan, C.K.

The climatic factors likely to influence the phytoplankton production in the northern Indian Ocean are examined. The major cause for the high productivity of the Arabian Sea is the nutrient enrichment of the euphotic zone by upwelling especially off...

Lithogenic fluxes to the northern Indian Ocean - An overview

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramaswamy, V.

Lithogenic fluxes to the northern Indian Ocean, measurEd. by time-series sediment traps, exhibit a strong seasonality with the bulk of the material (40 to 80 %) being deposited during the southwest monsoon period. This seasonality is more pronounced...

Phytoplankton composition and biomass across the southern Indian Ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schlüter, Louise; Henriksen, Peter; Nielsen, Torkel Gissel

2011-01-01

prochlorophytes dominated at these two stations, but also pelagophytes, haptophytes and cyanobacteria were abundant. Haptophytes Type 6 (sensu Zapata et al., 2004), most likely Emiliania huxleyi, and pelagophytes were the dominating eucaryotes in the southern Indian Ocean. Prochlorophytes dominated...

Corals and Sclerosponges

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Records of past climate and ocean environment derived from stable isotope, trace metal, and other measurements made on corals and sclerosponges. Parameter keywords...

The flip-or-flop boutique: Marine debris on the shores of St Brandon's rock, an isolated tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwman, Hindrik; Evans, Steven W; Cole, Nik; Choong Kwet Yive, Nee Sun; Kylin, Henrik

2016-03-01

Isolated coral atolls are not immune from marine debris accumulation. We identified Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and the countries on the Arabian Sea as most probable source areas of 50 000 items on the shores of St. Brandon's Rock (SBR), Indian Ocean. 79% of the debris was plastics. Flip-flops, energy drink bottles, and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) were notable item types. The density of debris (0.74 m(-)(1) shore length) is comparable to similar islands but less than mainland sites. Intact CFLs suggests product-facilitated long-range transport of mercury. We suspect that aggregated marine debris, scavenged by the islands from currents and gyres, could re-concentrate pollutants. SBR islets accumulated debris types in different proportions suggesting that many factors act variably on different debris types. Regular cleaning of selected islets will take care of most of the accumulated debris and may improve the ecology and tourism potential. However, arrangements and logistics require more study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program: 2016 projects to address coral reef conservation issues

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In 2016 the following projects will take place to address aspects of coral reef conservation: Enhancing Management of Pacific ESA-listed Corals with Improved Utility...

Role of North Indian Ocean Air-Sea Interaction in Summer Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L.; Han, W.; Li, Y.

2017-12-01

Air-sea coupling processes over the North Indian Ocean associated with Indian summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO) are analyzed. Observations show that MISO convection anomalies affect underlying sea surface temperature (SST) through changes in surface shortwave radiation (via cloud cover change) and surface latent heat flux (associated with surface wind speed change). In turn, SST anomalies determine the changing rate of MISO precipitation (dP/dt): warm (cold) SST anomalies cause increasing (decreasing) precipitation rate through increasing (decreasing) surface convergence. Air-sea interaction gives rise to a quadrature relationship between MISO precipitation and SST anomalies. A local air-sea coupling model (LACM) is established based on these observed physical processes, which is a damped oscillatory system with no external forcing. The period of LACM is proportional to the square root of mean state mixed layer depth , assuming other physical parameters remain unchanged. Hence, LACM predicts a relatively short (long) MISO period over the North Indian Ocean during the May-June monsoon developing (July-August mature) phase when is shallow (deep). This result is consistent with observed MISO statistics. An oscillatory external forcing of a typical 30-day period is added to LACM, representing intraseasonal oscillations originated from the equatorial Indian Ocean and propagate into the North Indian Ocean. The period of LACM is then determined by both the inherent period associated with local air-sea coupling and the period of external forcing. It is found that resonance occurs when , amplifying the MISO in situ. This result explains the larger MISO amplitude during the monsoon developing phase compared to the mature phase, which is associated with seasonal cycle of . LACM, however, fails to predict the observed small MISO amplitude during the September-October monsoon decaying phase, when is also shallow. This deficiency might be associated with the

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) and its impacts on the Indian Ocean during the global warming slowdown period

Science.gov (United States)

Makarim, S.; Liu, Z.; Yu, W.; Yan, X.; Sprintall, J.

2016-12-01

The global warming slowdown indicated by a slower warming rate at the surface layer accompanied by stronger heat transport into the deeper layers has been explored in the Indian Ocean. Although the mechanisms of the global warming slowdown are still under warm debate, some clues have been recognized that decadal La Nina like-pattern induced decadal cooling in the Pacific Ocean and generated an increase of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) transport in 2004-2010. However, how the ITF spreading to the interior of the Indian Ocean and the impact of ITF changes on the Indian Ocean, in particular its water mass transformation and current system are still unknown. To this end, we analyzed thermohaline structure and current system at different depths in the Indian Ocean both during and just before the global warming slowdown period using the ORAS4 and ARGO dataset. Here, we found the new edge of ITF at off Sumatra presumably as northward deflection of ITF Lombok Strait, and The Monsoon Onset Monitoring and Social Ecology Impact (MOMSEI) and Java Upwelling Variation Observation (JUVO) dataset confirmed this evident. An isopycnal mixing method initially proposed by Du et al. (2013) is adopted to quantify the spreading of ITF water in the Indian Ocean, and therefore the impacts of ITF changes on the variation of the Agulhas Current, Leuween Current, Bay of Bengal Water. This study also prevailed the fresher salinity in the Indian Ocean during the slowdown warming period were not only contributed by stronger transport of the ITF, but also by freshening Arabian Sea and infiltrating Antartic Intermediate Water (AAIW).

Morphometric studies on a part of Central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Kodagali, V.N.

Morphometric and slope angle studies carried out on a part of Indian Ocean Basin have shown that gentle slope angle ranges dominate, 92% of the area represented by 0-3 degrees slopes. Young's hypothesis of log-normal distribution of slope angle...

Air-sea interaction over the Indian Ocean due to variations in the Indonesian throughflow

Science.gov (United States)

Wajsowicz, R. C.

The effects of the Indonesian throughflow on the upper thermocline circulation and surface heat flux over the Indian Ocean are presented for a 3-D ocean model forced by two different monthly wind-stress climatologies, as they show interesting differences, which could have implications for long-term variability in the Indian and Australasian monsoons. The effects are determined by contrasting a control run with a run in which the throughflow is blocked by an artificial land-bridge across the exit channels into the Indian Ocean. In the model forced by ECMWF wind stresses, there is little impact on the annual mean surface heat flux in the region surrounding the throughflow exit straits, whereas in the model forced by SSM/I-based wind stresses, a modest throughflow of less than 5 ×106 m3s-1 over the upper 300 m induces an extra 10-50 Wm-2 output. In the SSM/I-forced model, there is insignificant penetration of the throughflow into the northern Indian Ocean. However, in the ECMWF-forced model, the throughflow induces a 5-10 Wm-2 reduction in heat input into the ocean, i.e., an effective output, over the Somali Current in the annual mean. These differences are attributed to differences in the strength and direction of the Ekman transport of the ambient flow, and the vertical structure of the transport and temperature anomalies associated with the throughflow. In both models, the throughflow induces a 5-30 Wm-2 increase in net output over a broad swathe of the southern Indian Ocean, and a reduction in heat output of 10-60 Wm-2 in a large L-shaped band around Tasmania. Effective increases in throughflow-induced net output reach up to 40 (60) Wm-2 over the Agulhas Current retroflection in the ECMWF (SSM/I)-forced model. Seasonal variations in the throughflow's effect on the net surface heat flux are attributed to seasonal variations in the ambient circulation of the Indian Ocean, specifically in coastal upwelling along the south Javan, west Australian, and Somalian coasts

The evolution of the Indian Ocean parrots (Psittaciformes): extinction, adaptive radiation and eustacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kundu, S; Jones, C G; Prys-Jones, R P; Groombridge, J J

2012-01-01

Parrots are among the most recognisable and widely distributed of all bird groups occupying major parts of the tropics. The evolution of the genera that are found in and around the Indian Ocean region is particularly interesting as they show a high degree of heterogeneity in distribution and levels of speciation. Here we present a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Indian Ocean parrots, identifying the possible geological and geographical factors that influenced their evolution. We hypothesise that the Indian Ocean islands acted as stepping stones in the radiation of the Old-World parrots, and that sea-level changes may have been an important determinant of current distributions and differences in speciation. A multi-locus phylogeny showing the evolutionary relationships among genera highlights the interesting position of the monotypic Psittrichas, which shares a common ancestor with the geographically distant Coracopsis. An extensive species-level molecular phylogeny indicates a complex pattern of radiation including evidence for colonisation of Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean islands from Australasia via multiple routes, and of island populations 'seeding' continents. Moreover, comparison of estimated divergence dates and sea-level changes points to the latter as a factor in parrot speciation. This is the first study to include the extinct parrot taxa, Mascarinus mascarinus and Psittacula wardi which, respectively, appear closely related to Coracopsis nigra and Psittacula eupatria. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Temperature Data From AUSTRALIA STAR and Other Platforms From Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean From 19860929 to 19890106 (NODC Accession 8900196)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature data from Australia Star and other ships from Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from September 29, 1986 to January 6, 1989. The data were collected by...

Gravity anomalies over the central Indian ridge between 3 degree S and 11 degree S, Indian Ocean: Segmentation and crustal structure

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Samudrala, K.; KameshRaju, K.A; RamaRao, P.

High-resolution shipboard geophysical investigations along the Indian Ocean ridge system are sparse especially over the Carlsberg and Central Indian ridges. In the present study, the shipboard gravity and multibeam bathymetry data acquired over a...

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science - Vol 8, No 2 (2009)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eddy formation around South West Mascarene Plateau (Indian Ocean) as evidenced by satellite 'global ocean colour' data · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. MR Badal, SDDV Rughooputh, L Rydberg, IS Robinson, C Pattiaratchi.

Chemical oceanography of the Indian Ocean, North of the equator

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

SenGupta, R.; Naqvi, S.W.A.

Chemical oceanographic studies in the North Indian Ocean have revealed several interesting and unique features. Dissolved oxygen northern boundary, prevents quick renewal of subsurface reducing conditions prevail at intermediate depths (ca. 150...

Processes of interannual mixed layer temperature variability in the thermocline ridge of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PraveenKumar, B.; Vialard, J.; Lengaigne, M.; Murty, V.S.N.; Foltz, G.R.; McPhaden, M.J.; Pous, S.; Montegut , C.deB.

, Brest Center, Pointe du Diable, B.P. 70 Plouzane 29280, France Corresponding author address: B Praveen Kumar Modelling and Ocean observations Group (MOG) Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. India... SST after the end of El Niño, and to prolong its regional climate impacts (the so-called Indian Ocean “capacitor” effect). Murtugudde et al. (2000) and Du et al. (2009) did not focus on the TRIO region, but showed that a combination of vertical...

New evidence on the sequence of deglacial warming in the tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naidu, P.D.; Govil, P.

. Quat. Sci., vol.25(7); 2010; 1138-1143 A New Evidence on Sequence of Deglacial Warming in the Tropical Indian Ocean P. Divakar Naidu 1 , Pawan Govil 1,2 1 National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula 403 004, Goa, India 2 National Centre... relative timing of abrupt climate warming in the tropics versus the high latitudes should be known. Therefore, the present communication is aimed to address the start of deglaciation in the Indian Ocean based on sea surface temperature (SST) derived from...

Geographic extent and variation of a coral reef trophic cascade.

Science.gov (United States)

McClanahan, T R; Muthiga, N A

2016-07-01

Trophic cascades caused by a reduction in predators of sea urchins have been reported in Indian Ocean and Caribbean coral reefs. Previous studies have been constrained by their site-specific nature and limited spatial replication, which has produced site and species-specific understanding that can potentially preclude larger community-organization nuances and generalizations. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the extent and variability of the cascade community in response to fishing across ~23° of latitude and longitude in coral reefs in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The taxonomic composition of predators of sea urchins, the sea urchin community itself, and potential effects of changing grazer abundance on the calcifying benthic organisms were studied in 171 unique coral reef sites. We found that geography and habitat were less important than the predator-prey relationships. There were seven sea urchin community clusters that aligned with a gradient of declining fishable biomass and the abundance of a key predator, the orange-lined triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus). The orange-lined triggerfish dominated where sea urchin numbers and diversity were low but the relative abundance of wrasses and emperors increased where sea urchin numbers were high. Two-thirds of the study sites had high sea urchin biomass (>2,300 kg/ha) and could be dominated by four different sea urchin species, Echinothrix diadema, Diadema savignyi, D. setosum, and Echinometra mathaei, depending on the community of sea urchin predators, geographic location, and water depth. One-third of the sites had low sea urchin biomass and diversity and were typified by high fish biomass, predators of sea urchins, and herbivore abundance, representing lightly fished communities with generally higher cover of calcifying algae. Calcifying algal cover was associated with low urchin abundance where as noncalcifying fleshy algal cover was not clearly associated with herbivore abundance. Fishing of the orange

Coral reef calcifiers buffer their response to ocean acidification using both bicarbonate and carbonate.

Science.gov (United States)

Comeau, S; Carpenter, R C; Edmunds, P J

2013-02-22

Central to evaluating the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on coral reefs is understanding how calcification is affected by the dissolution of CO(2) in sea water, which causes declines in carbonate ion concentration [CO(3)(2-)] and increases in bicarbonate ion concentration [HCO(3)(-)]. To address this topic, we manipulated [CO(3)(2-)] and [HCO(3)(-)] to test the effects on calcification of the coral Porites rus and the alga Hydrolithon onkodes, measured from the start to the end of a 15-day incubation, as well as in the day and night. [CO(3)(2-)] played a significant role in light and dark calcification of P. rus, whereas [HCO(3)(-)] mainly affected calcification in the light. Both [CO(3)(2-)] and [HCO(3)(-)] had a significant effect on the calcification of H. onkodes, but the strongest relationship was found with [CO(3)(2-)]. Our results show that the negative effect of declining [CO(3)(2-)] on the calcification of corals and algae can be partly mitigated by the use of HCO(3)(-) for calcification and perhaps photosynthesis. These results add empirical support to two conceptual models that can form a template for further research to account for the calcification response of corals and crustose coralline algae to OA.

Distribution of Bowen ratio over the north Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, G.R.L.; Rao, M.V.; Prasad, P.H.; Reddy, K.G.

The monthly averages of Bowen ratio over the north Indian Ocean have been computed Three typical situations in the months of January May and September are taken for the present study Month to month differences in the Bowen ratio over the study...

Linking social and ecological systems to sustain coral reef fisheries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cinner, Joshua E; McClanahan, Timothy R; Daw, Tim M; Graham, Nicholas A J; Maina, Joseph; Wilson, Shaun K; Hughes, Terence P

2009-02-10

The ecosystem goods and services provided by coral reefs are critical to the social and economic welfare of hundreds of millions of people, overwhelmingly in developing countries [1]. Widespread reef degradation is severely eroding these goods and services, but the socioeconomic factors shaping the ways that societies use coral reefs are poorly understood [2]. We examine relationships between human population density, a multidimensional index of socioeconomic development, reef complexity, and the condition of coral reef fish populations in five countries across the Indian Ocean. In fished sites, fish biomass was negatively related to human population density, but it was best explained by reef complexity and a U-shaped relationship with socioeconomic development. The biomass of reef fishes was four times lower at locations with intermediate levels of economic development than at locations with both low and high development. In contrast, average biomass inside fishery closures was three times higher than in fished sites and was not associated with socioeconomic development. Sustaining coral reef fisheries requires an integrated approach that uses tools such as protected areas to quickly build reef resources while also building capacities and capital in societies over longer time frames to address the complex underlying causes of reef degradation.

Trends in the Indian Ocean Climatology due to anthropogenic induced global warming

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Meyer, AA

2009-09-01

Full Text Available clearly show that due to global warming the South West Indian Ocean Climatology has been changing and that this changing trend will continue into the future as global warming continues. The impacts of regional oceanic climate change on the regions coastal...

Calcification rates of the Caribbean reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea adversely affected by both seawater warming and CO2-induced ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, K. M.; Connolly, B. D.; Westfield, I. T.; Chow, E.; Castillo, K. D.; Ries, J. B.

2013-05-01

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that atmospheric pCO2 will increase to ca. 550-950 ppm by the end of the century, primarily due to the anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and cement production. This is predicted to cause SST to increase by 1-3 °C and seawater pH to decrease by 0.1-0.3 units. Laboratory studies have shown that warming depresses calcification rates of scleractinian corals and that acidification yields mixed effects on coral calcification. With both warming and ocean acidification predicted for the next century, we must constrain the interactive effects of these two CO2-induced stressors on scleractinian coral calcification. Here, we present the results of experiments designed to assess the response of the scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea to both ocean warming and acidification. Coral fragments (12/tank) were reared for 60 days under three temperatures (25.1± 0.02 °C, 28.0± 0.02 °C, 31.8± 0.02 °C) at near modern pCO2 (436 ± 7) and near the highest IPCC estimate for atmospheric pCO2 for the year 2100 AD (883 ± 16). Each temperature and pCO2 treatment was executed in triplicate and contained similarly sized S. Siderea fragments obtained from the same suite of coral colonies equitably distributed amongst the nearshore, backreef, and forereef zones of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System off the coast of southern Belize. Individual coral fragments were hand fed Artemia sp. to satiation twice weekly. Weekly seawater samples (250 ml) were collected and analyzed for dissolved inorganic carbon via coulometry and total alkalinity via closed-cell potentiometric titration. Seawater pCO2, pH, carbonate ion concentration, bicarbonate ion concentration, aqueous CO2, and aragonite saturation state (ΩA) were calculated with the program CO2SYS. Under near-modern atmospheric pCO2 of ca. 436 ± 7 ppm, seawater warming from 25 to 28 to 32°C caused coral calcification rates (estimated from change in

Challenges for present and future estimates of anthropogenic carbon in the Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Goyet, C.; Touratier, F.

One of the main challenges we face today is to determine the evolution of the penetration of anthropogenic CO2 into the Indian Ocean and its impacts on marine and human life. Anthropogenic CO2 reaches the ocean via air-sea interactions as well as riverine inputs. It is then stored in the ocean and follows the oceanic circulation. As the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere penetrates into the sea, it reacts with water and acidifies the ocean. Consequently, the whole marine ecosystem is perturbed, thus potentially affecting the food web, which has, in turn, a direct impact on seafood supply for humans. Naturally, this will mainly affect the growing number of people living in coastal areas. Although anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean is identical with natural CO2 and therefore cannot be detected alone, many approaches are available today to estimate it. Since most of the results of these methods are globally in agreement, here we chose one of these methods, the tracer using oxygen, total inorganic carbon, and total alkalinity (TrOCA) approach, to compute the 3-D distribution of the anthropogenic CO2 concentrations throughout the Indian Ocean. The results of this distribution clearly illustrate the contrast between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. They further show the importance of the southern part of this ocean that carries some anthropogenic CO2 at great depths. In order to determine the future anthropogenic impacts on the Indian Ocean, it is urgent and necessary to understand the present state. As the seawater temperature increases, how and how fast will the ocean circulation change? What will the impacts on seawater properties be? Many people are living on the bordering coasts, how will they be affected?

Testing animal-assisted cleaning prior to transplantation in coral reef restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Frias-Torres, Sarah; van de Geer, Casper

2015-01-01

Rearing coral fragments in nurseries and subsequent transplantation onto a degraded reef is a common approach for coral reef restoration. However, if barnacles and other biofouling organisms are not removed prior to transplantation, fish will dislodge newly cemented corals when feeding on biofouling organisms. This behavior can lead to an increase in diver time due to the need to reattach the corals. Thus, cleaning nurseries to remove biofouling organisms such as algae and invertebrates is necessary prior to transplantation, and this cleaning constitutes a significant time investment in a restoration project. We tested a novel biomimicry technique of animal-assisted cleaning on nursery corals prior to transplantation at a coral reef restoration site in Seychelles, Indian Ocean. To determine whether animal-assisted cleaning was possible, preliminary visual underwater surveys were performed to quantify the fish community at the study site. Then, cleaning stations consisting of nursery ropes carrying corals and biofouling organisms, set at 0.3 m, 2 m, 4 m, 6 m and 8 m from the seabed, were placed at both the transplantation (treatment) site and the nursery (control) site. Remote GoPro video cameras recorded fish feeding at the nursery ropes without human disturbance. A reef fish assemblage of 32 species from 4 trophic levels (18.8% herbivores, 18.8% omnivores, 59.3% secondary consumers and 3.1% carnivores) consumed 95% of the barnacles on the coral nursery ropes placed 0.3 m above the seabed. Using this cleaning station, we reduced coral dislodgement from 16% to zero. This cleaning station technique could be included as a step prior to coral transplantation worldwide on the basis of location-specific fish assemblages and during the early nursery phase of sexually produced juvenile corals.

Testing animal-assisted cleaning prior to transplantation in coral reef restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Frias-Torres

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Rearing coral fragments in nurseries and subsequent transplantation onto a degraded reef is a common approach for coral reef restoration. However, if barnacles and other biofouling organisms are not removed prior to transplantation, fish will dislodge newly cemented corals when feeding on biofouling organisms. This behavior can lead to an increase in diver time due to the need to reattach the corals. Thus, cleaning nurseries to remove biofouling organisms such as algae and invertebrates is necessary prior to transplantation, and this cleaning constitutes a significant time investment in a restoration project. We tested a novel biomimicry technique of animal-assisted cleaning on nursery corals prior to transplantation at a coral reef restoration site in Seychelles, Indian Ocean. To determine whether animal-assisted cleaning was possible, preliminary visual underwater surveys were performed to quantify the fish community at the study site. Then, cleaning stations consisting of nursery ropes carrying corals and biofouling organisms, set at 0.3 m, 2 m, 4 m, 6 m and 8 m from the seabed, were placed at both the transplantation (treatment site and the nursery (control site. Remote GoPro video cameras recorded fish feeding at the nursery ropes without human disturbance. A reef fish assemblage of 32 species from 4 trophic levels (18.8% herbivores, 18.8% omnivores, 59.3% secondary consumers and 3.1% carnivores consumed 95% of the barnacles on the coral nursery ropes placed 0.3 m above the seabed. Using this cleaning station, we reduced coral dislodgement from 16% to zero. This cleaning station technique could be included as a step prior to coral transplantation worldwide on the basis of location-specific fish assemblages and during the early nursery phase of sexually produced juvenile corals.

Testing animal-assisted cleaning prior to transplantation in coral reef restoration

Science.gov (United States)

van de Geer, Casper

2015-01-01

Rearing coral fragments in nurseries and subsequent transplantation onto a degraded reef is a common approach for coral reef restoration. However, if barnacles and other biofouling organisms are not removed prior to transplantation, fish will dislodge newly cemented corals when feeding on biofouling organisms. This behavior can lead to an increase in diver time due to the need to reattach the corals. Thus, cleaning nurseries to remove biofouling organisms such as algae and invertebrates is necessary prior to transplantation, and this cleaning constitutes a significant time investment in a restoration project. We tested a novel biomimicry technique of animal-assisted cleaning on nursery corals prior to transplantation at a coral reef restoration site in Seychelles, Indian Ocean. To determine whether animal-assisted cleaning was possible, preliminary visual underwater surveys were performed to quantify the fish community at the study site. Then, cleaning stations consisting of nursery ropes carrying corals and biofouling organisms, set at 0.3 m, 2 m, 4 m, 6 m and 8 m from the seabed, were placed at both the transplantation (treatment) site and the nursery (control) site. Remote GoPro video cameras recorded fish feeding at the nursery ropes without human disturbance. A reef fish assemblage of 32 species from 4 trophic levels (18.8% herbivores, 18.8% omnivores, 59.3% secondary consumers and 3.1% carnivores) consumed 95% of the barnacles on the coral nursery ropes placed 0.3 m above the seabed. Using this cleaning station, we reduced coral dislodgement from 16% to zero. This cleaning station technique could be included as a step prior to coral transplantation worldwide on the basis of location-specific fish assemblages and during the early nursery phase of sexually produced juvenile corals. PMID:26468440

Large predatory coral trout species unlikely to meet increasing energetic demands in a warming ocean

KAUST Repository

Johansen, J.L.

2015-09-08

Increased ocean temperature due to climate change is raising metabolic demands and energy requirements of marine ectotherms. If productivity of marine systems and fisheries are to persist, individual species must compensate for this demand through increasing energy acquisition or decreasing energy expenditure. Here we reveal that the most important coral reef fishery species in the Indo-west Pacific, the large predatory coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae), can behaviourally adjust food intake to maintain body-condition under elevated temperatures, and acclimate over time to consume larger meals. However, these increased energetic demands are unlikely to be met by adequate production at lower trophic levels, as smaller prey species are often the first to decline in response to climate-induced loss of live coral and structural complexity. Consequently, ubiquitous increases in energy consumption due to climate change will increase top-down competition for a dwindling biomass of prey, potentially distorting entire food webs and associated fisheries.

Large predatory coral trout species unlikely to meet increasing energetic demands in a warming ocean

KAUST Repository

Johansen, J.L.; Pratchett, M.S.; Messmer, V.; Coker, Darren James; Tobin, A.J.; Hoey, A.S.

2015-01-01

Increased ocean temperature due to climate change is raising metabolic demands and energy requirements of marine ectotherms. If productivity of marine systems and fisheries are to persist, individual species must compensate for this demand through increasing energy acquisition or decreasing energy expenditure. Here we reveal that the most important coral reef fishery species in the Indo-west Pacific, the large predatory coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae), can behaviourally adjust food intake to maintain body-condition under elevated temperatures, and acclimate over time to consume larger meals. However, these increased energetic demands are unlikely to be met by adequate production at lower trophic levels, as smaller prey species are often the first to decline in response to climate-induced loss of live coral and structural complexity. Consequently, ubiquitous increases in energy consumption due to climate change will increase top-down competition for a dwindling biomass of prey, potentially distorting entire food webs and associated fisheries.

Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: New evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelin, B.; Dupre, B.; Allegre, C.J.

1986-01-01

A Pb-Sr-Nd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other. The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the ''central Indian Ocean'' islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Reunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportion over time. (orig.)

Amino acid stable isotope applications to deep-sea corals: A molecular geochemistry approach to reconstructing past ocean conditions

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, K.; McCarthy, M. D.; Guilderson, T. P.; Sherwood, O.; Williams, B.; Larsen, T.; Glynn, D. S.

2017-12-01

Future climate change is predicted to alter ocean productivity, food web dynamics, biogeochemical cycling, and the efficacy of the biological pump. Proteinaceous deep-sea corals act as "living sediment traps," providing long-term, high-resolution records of exported surface ocean production and a window into past changes in ocean condition as a historical context for potential future changes. Here, we present recent work developing the application of compound-specific stable isotope analysis of individual amino acids to proteinaceous deep-sea corals to reconstruct past changes in phytoplankton community composition and biogeochemical cycling. We present new calibrations for molecular isotope comparisons between metabolically active coral polyp tissue and bioarchival proteinaceous skeleton. We then applied these techniques to deep-sea corals from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) to reconstruct centennial to millennial time scale changes in phytoplankton community composition and biogeochemical cycling as a function of regional climate change. This work suggests that the NPSG has undergone multiple major phytoplankton regime shifts over the last millennium between prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton communities and associated sources of nitrogen fueling production. The most recent regime, which started around the end of the Little Ice Age and the onset of the Industrial era, is unprecedented in the last 1000 years and resulted in a 30-50% increase in diazotrophic cyanobacteria contribution to export production and an associated 17-27% increase in N2-fixation in the NPSG over last century. By offering the first direct phylogenetic context for long-term shifts in isotopic records of exported particulate organic matter, our data represent a major step forward in understanding the evolution of marine plankton community dynamics, food web architecture, biogeochemical cycling, and the climate feedback loops through the biological pump.

Drift pumice in the central Indian Ocean Basin: Geochemical evidence

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pattan, J.N.; Mudholkar, A.V.; JaiSankar, S.; Ilangovan, D.

Abundant white to light grey-coloured pumice without ferromanganese oxide coating occurs within the Quaternary sediments of the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Two distinct groups of pumice are identified from their geochemical composition, which...

The effects of sea surface temperature anomalies on oceanic coral reef systems in the southwestern tropical Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, B. P.; Costa, M. B. S. F.; Coxey, M. S.; Gaspar, A. L. B.; Veleda, D.; Araujo, M.

2013-06-01

In 2010, high sea surface temperatures that were recorded in several parts of the world and caused coral bleaching and coral mortality were also recorded in the southwest Atlantic Ocean, between latitudes 0°S and 8°S. This paper reports on coral bleaching and diseases in Rocas Atoll and Fernando de Noronha archipelago and examines their relationship with sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies recorded by PIRATA buoys located at 8°S30°W, 0°S35°W, and 0°S23°W. Adjusted satellite data were used to derive SST climatological means at buoy sites and to derive anomalies at reef sites. The whole region was affected by the elevated temperature anomaly that persisted through 2010, reaching 1.67 °C above average at reef sites and 1.83 °C above average at buoys sites. A significant positive relationship was found between the percentage of coral bleaching that was observed on reef formations and the corresponding HotSpot SST anomaly recorded by both satellite and buoys. These results indicate that the warming observed in the ocean waters was followed by a warming at the reefs. The percentage of bleached corals persisting after the subsidence of the thermal stress, and disease prevalence increased through 2010, after two periods of thermal stress. The in situ temperature anomaly observed during the 2009-2010 El Niño event was equivalent to the anomaly observed during the 1997-1998 El Niño event, explaining similar bleaching intensity. Continued monitoring efforts are necessary to further assess the relationship between bleaching severity and PIRATA SST anomalies and improve the use of this new dataset in future regional bleaching predictions.

NOAA Coral Reef Watch Monthly 25 km Ocean Acidification Product Suite from 1988-01-01 to 2012-01-31 covering the Greater Caribbean Region

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coral Reef Watch Experimental Ocean Acidification Product Suite (OAPS) offers an important synthesis of satellite and modeled environmental datasets to...

The crucial role of ocean-atmosphere coupling on the Indian monsoon anomalous response during dipole events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krishnan, R.; Swapna, P.; Ayantika, D.C.; Mujumdar, M. [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Sundaram, Suchithra [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut d' Astronomie de Geophysique G. Lemaitre, Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium); Kumar, Vinay [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Florida State University, Department of Meteorology, Tallahassee, FL (United States)

2011-07-15

This paper examines an issue concerning the simulation of anomalously wet Indian summer monsoons like 1994 which co-occurred with strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions in the tropical Indian Ocean. Contrary to observations it has been noticed that standalone atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM) forced with observed SST boundary condition, consistently depicted a decrease of the summer monsoon rainfall during 1994 over the Indian region. Given the ocean-atmosphere coupling during IOD events, we have examined whether the failure of standalone AGCM simulations in capturing wet Indian monsoons like 1994 can be remedied by including a simple form of coupling that allows the monsoon circulation to dynamically interact with the IOD anomalies. With this view, we have performed a suite of simulations by coupling an AGCM to a slab-ocean model with spatially varying mixed-layer-depth (MLD) specified from observations for the 1994 IOD; as well as four other cases (1983, 1997, 2006, 2007). The specification of spatially varying MLD from observations allows us to constrain the model to observed IOD conditions. It is seen that the inclusion of coupling significantly improves the large-scale circulation response by strengthening the monsoon cross-equatorial flow; leading to precipitation enhancement over the subcontinent and rainfall decrease over south-eastern tropical Indian Ocean - in a manner broadly consistent with observations. A plausible physical mechanism is suggested to explain the monsoonal response in the coupled frame-work. These results warrant the need for improved monsoon simulations with fully coupled models to be able to better capture the observed monsoon interannual variability. (orig.)

India's manganese nodule mine site in the Central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Banakar, V.K.

This commentary highlights the activities of massive exploration programme for manganese nodule deposits in the Central Indian Basin located 5 km below the ocean surface and India's claim for mine site development and registration with UNCLOS...

Development of manganese nodule resources in the Central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sharma, R.

Resources evalution on grade and abundance of nodules using statistical methods for grab samples and photography data, combined with bathymetric and structural mapping, were carried out for delineation of the potential area of Central Indian Ocean...

Bacterial Diversity in Deep-Sea Sediments from Afanasy Nikitin Seamount, Equatorial Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Khandeparker, R.; Meena, R.M.; Deobagkar, D.D.

Deep-sea sediments can reveal much about the last 200 million years of Earth history, including the history of ocean life and climate. Microbial diversity in Afanasy Nikitin seamount located at Equatorial East Indian Ocean (EEIO) was investigated...

Incorporating climate and ocean change into extinction risk assessments for 82 coral species.

Science.gov (United States)

Brainard, Russell E; Weijerman, Mariska; Eakin, C Mark; McElhany, Paul; Miller, Margaret W; Patterson, Matt; Piniak, Gregory A; Dunlap, Matthew J; Birkeland, Charles

2013-12-01

Many marine invertebrate species facing potential extinction have uncertain taxonomies and poorly known demographic and ecological traits. Uncertainties are compounded when potential extinction drivers are climate and ocean changes whose effects on even widespread and abundant species are only partially understood. The U.S. Endangered Species Act mandates conservation management decisions founded on the extinction risk to species based on the best available science at the time of consideration-requiring prompt action rather than awaiting better information. We developed an expert-opinion threat-based approach that entails a structured voting system to assess extinction risk from climate and ocean changes and other threats to 82 coral species for which population status and threat response information was limited. Such methods are urgently needed because constrained budgets and manpower will continue to hinder the availability of desired data for many potentially vulnerable marine species. Significant species-specific information gaps and uncertainties precluded quantitative assessments of habitat loss or population declines and necessitated increased reliance on demographic characteristics and threat vulnerabilities at genus or family levels. Adapting some methods (e.g., a structured voting system) used during other assessments and developing some new approaches (e.g., integrated assessment of threats and demographic characteristics), we rated the importance of threats contributing to coral extinction risk and assessed those threats against population status and trend information to evaluate each species' extinction risk over the 21st century. This qualitative assessment resulted in a ranking with an uncertainty range for each species according to their estimated likelihood of extinction. We offer guidance on approaches for future biological extinction risk assessments, especially in cases of data-limited species likely to be affected by global-scale threats

Assessing Detecting and Deterring the Threat of Maritime Nuclear and Radiological Smuggling in the Western Indian Ocean Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, M. Umer [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Cooperative Monitoring Center

2017-03-01

This paper proposes that current maritime smuggling routes in the western Indian Ocean region are similar to those in the past and that the motivations of terrorist groups and the presence of radioactive sources in the Indian Ocean littoral and other states present a significant security threat. The majority of regional terrorist groups have a hybrid structure, piggybacking on criminal activity to fund their terror activities. Additionally, states have used maritime routes in the Indian Ocean region to transport nuclear materials and missiles. Thus, the maritime dimension of such threats remains, and may be increasing. This paper focuses on issues, motivations, pathways, and methods to detect and interdict nuclear and radiological trafficking. It analyzes the potential use of maritime technology applications for radiation detection and presents recommendations for states and multinational nonproliferation advocacy organizations to address the threat in the Indian Ocean region.

Petrology of seamounts in the Central Indian Ocean Basin: Evidence for near-axis origin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mukhopadhyay, R.; Batiza, R.; Iyer, S.D.

Previous studies on the distribution and morphology of ancient seamount chains (>50 Ma) in the Central Indian Ocean basin (CIOB) indicated their generation from the fast spreading Southeast Indian Ridge. The petrology of some of these seamounts...

Intraseasonal meridional current variability in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ogata, T.; Sasaki, H.; Murty, V.S.N.; Sarma, M.S.S.; Masumoto, Y.

. [2007] demonstrate the possibility of the air-sea interac- tion in the eastern Indian Ocean at the intraseasonal time- scale by analyzing observed and simulated data. Recent studies also reveal that multiscale air-sea interactions be- tween intraseasonal...

Using coral Ba/Ca records to investigate seasonal to decadal scale biogeochemical cycling in the surface and intermediate ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

LaVigne, M.; Cobb, K. M.; DeLong, K. L.; Freiberger, M. M.; Grottoli, A. G.; Hill, T. M.; Miller, H. R.; Nurhati, I. S.; Richey, J. N.; Serrato Marks, G.; Sherrell, R. M.

2016-12-01

Dissolved barium (BaSW), a bio-intermediate element, is linked to several biogeochemical processes such as the cycling and export of nutrients, organic carbon (Corg), and barite in surface and intermediate oceans. Dynamic BaSW cycling has been demonstrated in the water column on short timescales (days-weeks) while sedimentary records have documented geologic-scale changes in barite preservation driven by export production. Our understanding of how seasonal-decadal scale climate variability impacts these biogeochemical processes currently lacks robust records. Ba/Ca calibrations in surface and deep sea corals suggest barium is incorporated via cationic substitution in both aragonite and calcite. Here we demonstrate the utility of Ba/Ca for reconstructing biogeochemical variability using examples of surface and deep sea coral records. Century-long deep sea coral records from the California Current System (bamboo corals: 900-1500m) record interannual variations in Ba/Ca, likely reflecting changes in barite formation via bacterial Corg respiration or barite saturation state. A surface Porites coral Ba/Ca record from Christmas Island (central equatorial Pacific: 1978-1995) shows maxima during low productivity El Niño warm periods, suggesting that variations in BaSW are driven by biological removal via direct cellular uptake or indirectly via barite precipitation with the decomposition of large phytoplankton blooms at this location. Similarly, a sixteen-year long Siderastera siderea surface coral record from Dry Tortugas, FL (Gulf of Mexico: 1991-2007) shows seasonal Ba/Ca cycles that align with annual chlorophyll and δ13C. Taken together, these records demonstrate the linkages among Corg, nutrient cycling and BaSW in the surface and intermediate ocean on seasonal to decadal timescales. Multi-proxy paleoceanographic reconstructions including Ba/Ca have the potential to elucidate the mechanisms linking past climate, productivity, nutrients, and BaSW cycling in the past.

Role of sea surface wind stress forcing on transport between Tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Q.

Using an Indian-Pacific Ocean Circulation Model (IPOM) a simulation study on the Transports of between Tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean such as Indonesian Through flow (ITF) has been done. IPOM covered the area 25°E-70°W, 35°S-60°N. There are 31 levels in the vertical with 22 levels upper 400m in it. The horizontal resolution is 1/3° lat x 1.5° lon between 10°S and 10°N. The coastline and ocean topography of IPOM is prepared from Scripps topography data on 1x1°grid. Forcing IPOM with monthly observational wind stress in 1990-1999 the interannual variation of sea temperature has been reproduced well, not only on El Nino in the Pacific but also on Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Therefore, the oceanic circulations in the tropical ocean are reasonable. The analyses of the oceanic circulations from the simulations suggest that the transport southward through Makassar Strait is the primary route of thermocline water masses from the North Pacific to the Indonesian sea. The transport westward through Bali-Western Australian Transect (BWAT, at 117.5E) can be thought as the final output of ITF through the archipelago to Indian Ocean. The transport westward through BWAT is in 8-12S above 150m, its core centered near surface 10S, which looks like a jet. The westward velocity is more than 50 cm/s. The transport shows significant seasonal and interannual variations. The maximum is in Jul-Oct, minimum in Jan-Mar. These results are consistent with some observation basically. The correlation analyses indict that the variations of transport westward is related with the southeasterly anomaly in the east tropical Indian ocean. The transport variation lags wind anomaly about 3 months. The correlation coefficient is more than 0.6. The transport is strong during IOD, for example in 1994 and 1997. The variations are also related with the northwesterly anomaly in the center equatorial Pacific and the easterly in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The transport is strong in most ENSO

Concentrations and isotopic compositions of neodymium in the eastern Indian Ocean and Indonesian straits

Science.gov (United States)

Jeandel, Catherine; Thouron, Danièle; Fieux, Michèle

1998-08-01

Four profiles of Nd concentration and isotopic composition were determined at two stations in the eastern Indian Ocean along a north/south section between Bali and Port-Hedland and at two others in the Timor and Sumba straits. Neodymium concentrations increase with depth, between 7.2 pmol/L at the surface to 41.7 pmol/L close to the bottom. The ɛ Nd of the different water masses along the section are -7.2 ± 0.2 for the Indian Bottom Waters and -6.1 ± 0.2 for the Indian Deep Waters. The intermediate and thermocline waters are less radiogenic at st-10 than at st-20 (-5.3 ± 0.3 and -3.6 ± 0.2, respectively). In the Timor Passage and Sumba Strait, ɛ Nd of the Indonesian waters is -4.1 ± 0.2 and that of the North Indian Intermediate Waters is -2.6 ± 0.3. These distinct isotopic signals constrain the origins of the different water masses sampled in the eastern Indian Ocean. They fix the limit of the nonradiogenic Antarctic and Indian contributions to the southern part of the section whereas the northern part is influenced by radiogenic Indonesian flows. In addition, the neodymium isotopic composition suggests that in the north, deep waters are influenced by a radiogenic component originating from the Sunda Arch Slope flowing deeper than 1200 m, which was not documented previously. Mixing calculations assess the conservativity of ɛ Nd on the scale of an oceanic basin. The origin of the surprising radiogenic signal of the NIIW is discussed and could result from a remobilization of Nd sediment-hosted on the Java shelf, requiring important dissolved/particulate exchange processes. Such processes, occurring in specific areas, could play an important role in the world ocean Nd budget.

Key to the identification of larvae and postlarvae of the penaeid prawns (Decapoda: Penaeidea) of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Paulinose, V.T.

Some of the major criteria for identifying the larvae and early postlarvae of the penaeid prawns of the Indian Ocean are presented based on the study on material collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition (1960-65). The key also...

Depths of Intraplate Indian Ocean Earthquakes from Waveform Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Baca, A. J.; Polet, J.

2014-12-01

The Indian Ocean is a region of complex tectonics and anomalous seismicity. The ocean floor in this region exhibits many bathymetric features, most notably the multiple inactive fracture zones within the Wharton Basin and the Ninetyeast Ridge. The 11 April 2012 MW 8.7 and 8.2 strike-slip events that took place in this area are unique because their rupture appears to have extended to a depth where brittle failure, and thus seismic activity, was considered to be impossible. We analyze multiple intraplate earthquakes that have occurred throughout the Indian Ocean to better constrain their focal depths in order to enhance our understanding of how deep intraplate events are occurring and more importantly determine if the ruptures are originating within a ductile regime. Selected events are located within the Indian Ocean away from major plate boundaries. A majority are within the deforming Indo-Australian tectonic plate. Events primarily display thrust mechanisms with some strike-slip or a combination of the two. All events are between MW5.5-6.5. Event selections were handled this way in order to facilitate the analysis of teleseismic waveforms using a point source approximation. From these criteria we gathered a suite of 15 intraplate events. Synthetic seismograms of direct P-waves and depth phases are computed using a 1-D propagator matrix approach and compared with global teleseismic waveform data to determine a best depth for each event. To generate our synthetic seismograms we utilized the CRUST1.0 software, a global crustal model that generates velocity values at the hypocenter of our events. Our waveform analysis results reveal that our depths diverge from the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) depths, which underestimate our deep lithosphere events and overestimate our shallow depths by as much as 17 km. We determined a depth of 45km for our deepest event. We will show a comparison of our final earthquake depths with the lithospheric thickness based on

EOP Settlement colonization and succession patterns of gold coral Kulamana haumeaae in Hawaiian deep coral assemblages

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Relational tabular data on corals relevant to the parasitic life history of gold coral. Surveys conducted throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago with attention on...

Circulation of the surface waters in the north Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varadachari, V.V.R.; Sharma, G.S.

The circulation pattern of the surface waters in the North Indian Ocean for different months of the year is discussed. In order to arrive at a reliable and detailed picture of the circulation pattern, streamlines are drawn using the isogon technique...

Turning up the heat: increasing temperature and coral bleaching at the high latitude coral reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdo, David A; Bellchambers, Lynda M; Evans, Scott N

2012-01-01

Coral reefs face increasing pressures particularly when on the edge of their distributions. The Houtman Abrolhos Islands (Abrolhos) are the southernmost coral reef system in the Indian Ocean, and one of the highest latitude reefs in the world. These reefs have a unique mix of tropical and temperate marine fauna and flora and support 184 species of coral, dominated by Acropora species. A significant La Niña event during 2011 produced anomalous conditions of increased temperature along the whole Western Australian coastline, producing the first-recorded widespread bleaching of corals at the Abrolhos. We examined long term trends in the marine climate at the Abrolhos using historical sea surface temperature data (HadISST data set) from 1900-2011. In addition in situ water temperature data for the Abrolhos (from data loggers installed in 2008, across four island groups) were used to determine temperature exposure profiles. Coupled with the results of coral cover surveys conducted annually since 2007; we calculated bleaching thresholds for monitoring sites across the four Abrolhos groups. In situ temperature data revealed maximum daily water temperatures reached 29.54°C in March 2011 which is 4.2°C above mean maximum daily temperatures (2008-2010). The level of bleaching varied across sites with an average of ∼12% of corals bleached. Mortality was high, with a mean ∼50% following the 2011 bleaching event. Prior to 2011, summer temperatures reached a mean (across all monitoring sites) of 25.1°C for 2.5 days. However, in 2011 temperatures reached a mean of 28.1°C for 3.3 days. Longer term trends (1900-2011) showed mean annual sea surface temperatures increase by 0.01°C per annum. Long-term temperature data along with short-term peaks in 2011, outline the potential for corals to be exposed to more frequent bleaching risk with consequences for this high latitude coral reef system at the edge of its distribution.

Indian Ocean surface winds from NCMRWF analysis as compared

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The quality of the surface wind analysis at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (NCMRWF), New Delhi over the tropical Indian Ocean and its improvement in 2001 are examined by comparing it with in situ buoy measurements and satellite derived surface winds from NASA QuikSCAT satellite (QSCT) ...

Behaviour and habitat of the Indian Ocean amphibious blenny ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Alticus monochrus Bleeker is an amphibious blenny that inhabits exposed and moderately exposed rocky shores of Mauritius and other islands of the southwestern Indian Ocean. It remains above the water line on moist or wet substrata over which it migrates vertically and/or horizontally with the tide. Rapid terrestrial ...

Reconciling plate kinematic and seismic estimates of lithospheric convergence in the central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bull, J.M.; DeMets, C.; Krishna, K.S.; Sanderson, D.J.; Merkouriev, S.

The far-field signature of the India-Asia collision and history of uplift in Tibet are recorded by sediment input into the Indian Ocean and the strain accumulation history across the diffuse plate boundary between the Indian and Capricorn plates. We...

Mass coral bleaching in 2010 in the southern Caribbean.

Science.gov (United States)

Alemu I, Jahson Berhane; Clement, Ysharda

2014-01-01

Ocean temperatures are increasing globally and the Caribbean is no exception. An extreme ocean warming event in 2010 placed Tobago's coral reefs under severe stress resulting in widespread coral bleaching and threatening the livelihoods that rely on them. The bleaching response of four reef building taxa was monitored over a six month period across three major reefs systems in Tobago. By identifying taxa resilient to bleaching we propose to assist local coral reef managers in the decision making process to cope with mass bleaching events. The bleaching signal (length of exposure to high ocean temperatures) varied widely between the Atlantic and Caribbean reefs, but regardless of this variation most taxa bleached. Colpophyllia natans, Montastraea faveolata and Siderastrea siderea were considered the most bleaching vulnerable taxa. Interestingly, reefs with the highest coral cover showed the greatest decline reef building taxa, and conversely, reefs with the lowest coral cover showed the most bleaching but lowest change in coral cover with little algal overgrowth post-bleaching.

Mass Coral Bleaching in 2010 in the Southern Caribbean

Science.gov (United States)

Alemu I, Jahson Berhane; Clement, Ysharda

2014-01-01

Ocean temperatures are increasing globally and the Caribbean is no exception. An extreme ocean warming event in 2010 placed Tobago's coral reefs under severe stress resulting in widespread coral bleaching and threatening the livelihoods that rely on them. The bleaching response of four reef building taxa was monitored over a six month period across three major reefs systems in Tobago. By identifying taxa resilient to bleaching we propose to assist local coral reef managers in the decision making process to cope with mass bleaching events. The bleaching signal (length of exposure to high ocean temperatures) varied widely between the Atlantic and Caribbean reefs, but regardless of this variation most taxa bleached. Colpophyllia natans, Montastraea faveolata and Siderastrea siderea were considered the most bleaching vulnerable taxa. Interestingly, reefs with the highest coral cover showed the greatest decline reef building taxa, and conversely, reefs with the lowest coral cover showed the most bleaching but lowest change in coral cover with little algal overgrowth post-bleaching. PMID:24400078

Phylogeography, population structure and evolution of coral-eating butterflyfishes (Family Chaetodontidae, genus Chaetodon , subgenus Corallochaetodon )

KAUST Repository

Waldrop, Ellen

2016-01-11

Aim This study compares the phylogeography, population structure and evolution of four butterflyfish species in the Chaetodon subgenus Corallochaetodon, with two widespread species (Indian Ocean – C. trifasciatus and Pacific Ocean – C. lunulatus), and two species that are largely restricted to the Red Sea (C. austriacus) and north-western (NW) Indian Ocean (C. melapterus). Through extensive geographical coverage of these taxa, we seek to resolve patterns of genetic diversity within and between closely related butterflyfish species in order to illuminate biogeographical and evolutionary processes. Location Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Methods A total of 632 individuals from 24 locations throughout the geographical ranges of all four members of the subgenus Corallochaetodon were sequenced using a 605 bp fragment (cytochrome b) of mtDNA. In addition, 10 microsatellite loci were used to assess population structure in the two widespread species. Results Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates that the Pacific Ocean C. lunulatus diverged from the Indian Ocean C. trifasciatus approximately 3 Ma, while C. melapterus and C. austriacus comprise a cluster of shared haplotypes derived from C. trifasciatus within the last 0.75 Myr. The Pacific C. lunulatus had significant population structure at peripheral locations on the eastern edge of its range (French Polynesia, Johnston Atoll, Hawai\\'i), and a strong break between two ecoregions of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The Indian Ocean C. trifasciatus showed significant structure only at the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean, and the two range-restricted species showed no population structure but evidence of recent population expansion. Main conclusions Patterns of endemism and genetic diversity in Corallochaetodon butterflyfishes have been shaped by (1) Plio-Pleistocene sea level changes that facilitated evolutionary divergences at biogeographical barriers between Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the Indian

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Maldives: waves and disaster affected by shape of coral reefs and islands

Science.gov (United States)

Kan, H.; Ali, M.; Riyaz, M.

2005-12-01

In Maldives, 39 islands are significantly damaged among 200 inhabited islands and nearly a third of the Maldivian people are severely affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 26 December 2004. We surveyed tsunami impact in 43 islands by measuring island topography and run-up height, interview to local people and mapping of the flooded and destructed areas. The differences in tsunami height and disaster corresponding to the atoll shape and island topography are observed. In the northern atolls, atoll rims consist of many ring-shaped reefs, i.e. miniature atolls called `faro', and interrupted many channels between them. The interrupted atoll rim may play an important role to reducing tsunami run-up height. Severe damage was not observed in the eastern coast of the islands. Beach ridge also contribute to the protection against tsunami. However, in some islands, houses beside the lagoon are damaged by backwashing floodwater from the lagoon. Water marks show the run-up height of -1.8m above MSL. The lagoon water-level seems to set-up by tsunami which permeates into the lagoon through the interrupted atoll rim. The disaster was severe at the southern atolls of Meemu, Thaa and Laamu. The higher run-up heights of up to 3.2m above MSL and enormous building damages were observed at the islands on the eastern atoll rims. The continuous atoll rim of these atolls may reinforce tsunami impact at the eastern islands. In addition, tsunami surge washed the islands totally because of low island topography without beach ridge. Significant floodwater from lagoon was not observed in these atolls. It seems the lagoon water-level was not set-up largely. The continuous atoll rim reduces the tsunami influence to the lagoon and the western side of the atolls. The continuity of atoll rim is probably the major factor to cause the difference in water movement, i.e. tsunami run-up and lagoon set-up, which affects the disaster in the islands. Beach ridge contribute to reduce the tsunami impact to

Radiocarbon Content of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the South Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Bercovici, S. K.; McNichol, A. P.; Xu, L.; Hansell, D. A.

2018-01-01

We report four profiles of the radiocarbon content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) spanning the South Indian Ocean (SIO), ranging from the Polar Front (56°S) to the subtropics (29°S). Surface waters held mean DOC Δ14C values of -426 ± 6‰ ( 4,400 14C years) at the Polar Front and DOC Δ14C values of -252 ± 22‰ ( 2,000 14C years) in the subtropics. At depth, Circumpolar Deep Waters held DOC Δ14C values of -491 ± 13‰ ( 5,400 years), while values in Indian Deep Water were more depleted, holding DOC Δ14C values of -503 ± 8‰ ( 5,600 14C years). High-salinity North Atlantic Deep Water intruding into the deep SIO had a distinctly less depleted DOC Δ14C value of -481 ± 8‰ ( 5,100 14C years). We use multiple linear regression to assess the dynamics of DOC Δ14C values in the deep Indian Ocean, finding that their distribution is characteristic of water masses in that region.

High-resolution residual geoid and gravity anomaly data of the northern Indian Ocean - An input to geological understanding

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sreejith, K.M.; Rajesh, S.; Majumdar, T.J.; Rao, G.S.; Radhakrishna, M.; Krishna, K.S.; Rajawat, A.S.

') geoid anomaly map of the northern Indian Ocean generated from the altimeter data obtained from Geodetic Missions of GEOSAT and ERS-1 along with ERS-2, TOPEX/POSIDEON and JASON satellites is presented. The geoid map of the Indian Ocean is dominated by a...

A century of ocean warming on Florida Keys coral reefs: historic in situ observations

Science.gov (United States)

Kuffner, Ilsa B.; Lidz, Barbara H.; Hudson, J. Harold; Anderson, Jeffery S.

2015-01-01

There is strong evidence that global climate change over the last several decades has caused shifts in species distributions, species extinctions, and alterations in the functioning of ecosystems. However, because of high variability on short (i.e., diurnal, seasonal, and annual) timescales as well as the recency of a comprehensive instrumental record, it is difficult to detect or provide evidence for long-term, site-specific trends in ocean temperature. Here we analyze five in situ datasets from Florida Keys coral reef habitats, including historic measurements taken by lighthouse keepers, to provide three independent lines of evidence supporting approximately 0.8 °C of warming in sea surface temperature (SST) over the last century. Results indicate that the warming observed in the records between 1878 and 2012 can be fully accounted for by the warming observed in recent decades (from 1975 to 2007), documented using in situ thermographs on a mid-shore patch reef. The magnitude of warming revealed here is similar to that found in other SST datasets from the region and to that observed in global mean surface temperature. The geologic context and significance of recent ocean warming to coral growth and population dynamics are discussed, as is the future prognosis for the Florida reef tract.

Coral Reef Watch, Hotspots, 50 km

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA Coral Reef Watch provides Coral Bleaching hotspot maps derived from NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES). This data provides global area...

Ferromanganese oxides on sharks' teeth from Central Indian Ocean Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Iyer, S.D.

The mineralogy, composition and growth rates of ferromanganese (Fe-Mn) oxides over the sharks' teeth from the Central Indian Ocean Basin are presented. The trends of metal enrichment (Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn) and depletion (Fe and Co), the Mn/Fe ratio...

Composition of macrobenthos from the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The deep sea is well known for its high faunal diversity. But the current interest in its abundant polymetallic nodules, poses a threat to the little known benthic organisms surviving in this unique environment. The present study is the first attempt to document the Indian Ocean abyssal benthic diversity of macroinvertebrates ...

Intraseasonal response of the northern Indian Ocean coastal waveguide to the Madden-Julian Oscillation

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vialard, J.; Shenoi, S.S.C.; Mc; Shankar, D.; Durand, F.; Fernando, V.; Shetye, S.R.

Author version: Geophys. Res. Lett.: 36(14); 2009; doi:10.1029/2009GL038450; 5 pp Intraseasonal response of Northern Indian Ocean coastal waveguide to the Madden-Julian Oscillation J. Vialard 1 2 , S.S.C Shenoi 2 , J.P. McCreary 3 , D. Shankar 2... involving both equatorial wave dynamics and coastal wave propagation around the perimeter of the northern Indian Ocean [McCreary et al., 1993]. The East India Coastal Current (EICC), for example, is strongly influenced by remote wind forcing from...

Indian Ocean radiocarbon: Data from the INDIGO 1, 2, and 3 cruises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sepanski, R.J.

1991-01-01

This document presents 14 C activities (expressed in the internationally adopted Δ 14 C scale) from water samples taken at various locations and depths in the Indian and Southern oceans through the Indien Gaz Ocean (INDIGO) project. These data were collected as part of the INDIGO 1, INDIGO 2, and INDIGO 3 cruises, which took place during the years 1985, 1986, and 1987, respectively. These data have been used to estimate the penetration of anthropogenic CO 2 in the Indian and Southern oceans. The document also presents supporting data for potential temperature, salinity, density (sigma-theta), δ 13 C, and total CO 2 . All radiocarbon measurements have been examined statistically for quality of sample counts and stability of counting efficiency and background. In addition, all data have been reviewed by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and assessed for gross accuracy and consistency (absence of obvious outliers and other anomalous values). These data are available free of charge as a numeric data package (NDP) from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center. The NDP consists of this document and a magnetic tape containing machine-readable files. This document provides sample listing of the Indian Ocean radiocarbon data as they appear on the magnetic tape, as well as a complete listing of these data in tabular form. This document also offers retrieval program listings, furnishes information on sampling methods and data selection, defines limitations and restrictions of the data, and provides reprints of pertinent literature. 13 refs., 4 tabs

Okamejei ornata n. sp., a new deep-water skate (Elasmobranchii, Rajidae) from the northwestern Indian Ocean off Socotra Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Weigmann, Simon; Stehmann, Matthias F. W.; Thiel, Ralf

2015-05-01

A new species of the Indo-Pacific skate genus Okamejei is described based on 10 specimens caught around the Socotra Islands (northwestern Indian Ocean). The type series of Okamejei ornata n. sp. was sampled during cruise 17 of RV 'Vityaz' along the deep western Indian Ocean in 1988/89. The new species represents the fifth species of Okamejei in the western Indian Ocean and differs from its congeners in having a unique dorsal pattern of variable dark brown spots encircled with beige pigment and arranged into rosettes. The dorsal ground color is ocher, but the anterior snout is dusky. Compared to congeners in the western Indian Ocean, the new species has a shorter preorbital snout length, a greater orbit diameter, fewer pectoral radials, an intermediate distance between first gill slits, and an intermediate number of upper jaw tooth rows.

Coral Reef Remote Sensing: Helping Managers Protect Reefs in a Changing Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Eakin, C.; Liu, G.; Li, J.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Heron, S. F.; Gledhill, D. K.; Christensen, T.; Rauenzahn, J.; Morgan, J.; Parker, B. A.; Skirving, W. J.; Nim, C.; Burgess, T.; Strong, A. E.

2010-12-01

Climate change and ocean acidification are already having severe impacts on coral reef ecosystems. Warming oceans have caused corals to bleach, or expel their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) with alarming frequency and severity and have contributed to a rise in coral infectious diseases. Ocean acidification is reducing the availability of carbonate ions needed by corals and many other marine organisms to build structural components like skeletons and shells and may already be slowing the coral growth. These two impacts are already killing corals and slowing reef growth, reducing biodiversity and the structure needed to provide crucial ecosystem services. NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch (CRW) uses a combination of satellite data, in situ observations, and models to provide coral reef managers, scientists, and others with information needed to monitor threats to coral reefs. The advance notice provided by remote sensing and models allows resource managers to protect corals, coral reefs, and the services they provide, although managers often encounter barriers to implementation of adaptation strategies. This talk will focus on application of NOAA’s satellite and model-based tools that monitor the risk of mass coral bleaching on a global scale, ocean acidification in the Caribbean, and coral disease outbreaks in selected regions, as well as CRW work to train managers in their use, and barriers to taking action to adapt to climate change. As both anthropogenic CO2 and temperatures will continue to rise, local actions to protect reefs are becoming even more important.

Effects of air-sea coupling on the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillations over the tropical Indian Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Ailan [CMA, Key Open Laboratory for Tropical Monsoon, Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, Guangzhou (China); Li, Tim [CMA, Key Open Laboratory for Tropical Monsoon, Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, Guangzhou (China); University of Hawaii, IPRC, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); University of Hawaii, Department of Meteorology, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); Fu, Xiouhua [University of Hawaii, IPRC, Honolulu, Hawaii (United States); Luo, Jing-Jia; Masumoto, Yukio [Research Institute for Global Change, JAMSTEC, Yokohama (Japan)

2011-12-15

The effects of air-sea coupling over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) on the eastward- and northward-propagating boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) are investigated by comparing a fully coupled (CTL) and a partially decoupled Indian Ocean (pdIO) experiment using SINTEX-F coupled GCM. Air-sea coupling over the TIO significantly enhances the intensity of both the eastward and northward propagations of the BSISO. The maximum spectrum differences of the northward- (eastward-) propagating BSISO between the CTL and pdIO reach 30% (25%) of their respective climatological values. The enhanced eastward (northward) propagation is related to the zonal (meridional) asymmetry of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA). A positive SSTA appears to the east (north) of the BSISO convection, which may positively feed back to the BSISO convection. In addition, air-sea coupling may enhance the northward propagation through the changes of the mean vertical wind shear and low-level specific humidity. The interannual variations of the TIO regulate the air-sea interaction effect. Air-sea coupling enhances (reduces) the eastward-propagating spectrum during the negative Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode, positive Indian Ocean basin (IOB) mode and normal years (during positive IOD and negative IOB years). Such phase dependence is attributed to the role of the background mean westerly in affecting the wind-evaporation-SST feedback. A climatological weak westerly in the equatorial Indian Ocean can be readily reversed by anomalous zonal SST gradients during the positive IOD and negative IOB events. Although the SSTA is always positive to the northeast of the BSISO convection for all interannual modes, air-sea coupling reduces the zonal asymmetry of the low-level specific humidity and thus the eastward propagation spectrum during the positive IOD and negative IOB modes, while strengthening them during the other modes. Air-sea coupling enhances the northward propagation under all

Impact of sinking carbon flux on accumulation of deep-ocean carbon in the Northern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, V.V.S.S.; DileepKumar, M.; Saino, T.

calculations using 14 C activity arises from the separation of natural 90 Biogeochemistry (2007) 82:89–100 123 and bomb-produced 14 C. Rubin and Key (2002) proposed the potential alkalinity method to achieve the separation. However, they found anomalous scatter... in the relationship between 14 C and potential alkalinity caused by data from the northern Indian Ocean (north of equator) and attributed that to the possible transportation of bomb radiocarbon, as carbonate particles from the surface ocean to the sediment...

Planktonic foraminifera from core tops of western equatorial Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naidu, P.D.; Guptha, M.V.S.

distributional pattern showing upward trend in its abundance from 38 per cent at 21 degrees S latitude to 0.8 per cent at 6 degrees N latitude. Sub-tropical fauna is sparsely distributed in the Equatorial Indian Ocean. Based on these studies it is interpreted...

The ecology of scattering layer biota around Indian Ocean seamounts and islands

OpenAIRE

Boersch-Supan, Philipp Hanno

2014-01-01

The waters of the open ocean constitute the largest living space on Earth but despite its obvious significance to the biosphere, the open ocean remains an unexplored frontier. With a regional focus on the Indian Ocean, this thesis investigates (i) the distribution of pelagic biota on basin scales, (ii) the effect of abrupt topography on pelagic biota and their predator-prey relationships, and (iii) the use of genetic techniques to elucidate population connectivity and dispersal of pelag...

After continents divide: Comparative phylogeography of reef fishes from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean

KAUST Repository

Dibattista, Joseph D.; Berumen, Michael L.; Gaither, Michelle R.; Rocha, Luiz A.; Eble, Jeff A.; Choat, John Howard; Craig, Matthew T.; Skillings, Derek J.; Bowen, Brian W.

2013-01-01

Aim: The Red Sea is a biodiversity hotspot characterized by a unique marine fauna and high endemism. This sea began forming c. 24 million years ago with the separation of the African and Arabian plates, and has been characterized by periods of desiccation, hypersalinity and intermittent connection to the Indian Ocean. We aim to evaluate the impact of these events on the genetic architecture of the Red Sea reef fish fauna. Location: Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Methods: We surveyed seven reef fish species from the Red Sea and adjacent Indian Ocean using mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b sequences. To assess genetic variation and evolutionary connectivity within and between these regions, we estimated haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π), reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes, and estimated gene flow and time of population separation using Bayesian coalescent-based methodology. Results: Our analyses revealed a range of scenarios from shallow population structure to diagnostic differences that indicate evolutionary partitions and possible cryptic species. Conventional molecular clocks and coalescence analyses indicated time-frames for divergence between these bodies of water ranging from 830,000 years to contemporary exchange or recent range expansion. Colonization routes were bidirectional, with some species moving from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea compared with expansion out of the Red Sea for other species. Main conclusions: We conclude that: (1) at least some Red Sea reef fauna survived multiple salinity crises; (2) endemism is higher in the Red Sea than previously reported; and (3) the Red Sea is an evolutionary incubator, occasionally contributing species to the adjacent Indian Ocean. The latter two conclusions - elevated endemism and species export - indicate a need for enhanced conservation priorities for the Red Sea. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

After continents divide: Comparative phylogeography of reef fishes from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean

KAUST Repository

Dibattista, Joseph D.

2013-01-07

Aim: The Red Sea is a biodiversity hotspot characterized by a unique marine fauna and high endemism. This sea began forming c. 24 million years ago with the separation of the African and Arabian plates, and has been characterized by periods of desiccation, hypersalinity and intermittent connection to the Indian Ocean. We aim to evaluate the impact of these events on the genetic architecture of the Red Sea reef fish fauna. Location: Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Methods: We surveyed seven reef fish species from the Red Sea and adjacent Indian Ocean using mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b sequences. To assess genetic variation and evolutionary connectivity within and between these regions, we estimated haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π), reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes, and estimated gene flow and time of population separation using Bayesian coalescent-based methodology. Results: Our analyses revealed a range of scenarios from shallow population structure to diagnostic differences that indicate evolutionary partitions and possible cryptic species. Conventional molecular clocks and coalescence analyses indicated time-frames for divergence between these bodies of water ranging from 830,000 years to contemporary exchange or recent range expansion. Colonization routes were bidirectional, with some species moving from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea compared with expansion out of the Red Sea for other species. Main conclusions: We conclude that: (1) at least some Red Sea reef fauna survived multiple salinity crises; (2) endemism is higher in the Red Sea than previously reported; and (3) the Red Sea is an evolutionary incubator, occasionally contributing species to the adjacent Indian Ocean. The latter two conclusions - elevated endemism and species export - indicate a need for enhanced conservation priorities for the Red Sea. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Diseases of corals with particular reference to Indian reefs

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ravindran, J.; Raghukumar, C.

Diseases are one of the factors that change the structure and functioning of coral-reef communities as they cause irreversible damage to the corals Reports on coral diseases describe the etiological agents responsible for the disease and in a few...

Coastal sea level response to the tropical cyclonic forcing in the northern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mehra, P.; Soumya, M.; Vethamony, P.; Vijaykumar, K.; Nair, T.M.B.; Agarvadekar, Y.; Jyoti, K.; Sudheesh, K.; Luis, R.; Lobo, S.; Halmalkar, B.

–173, 2015 www.ocean-sci.net/11/159/2015/ doi:10.5194/os-11-159-2015 © Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Coastal sea level response to the tropical cyclonic forcing in the northern Indian Ocean P. Mehra1, M. Soumya1, P. Vethamony1, K. Vijaykumar1, T.... Note: sea level data at Colombo, Kochi, Karachi, Chabahar, Jask, Masirah, Minocoy and Hanimaadhoo are downloaded from www.gloss-sealevel.org and are shown with red stars. (Time is in Indian standard time (IST).) land locations of India are provided...

Uncertainty in Indian Ocean Dipole response to global warming: the role of internal variability

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, Chang; Zheng, Xiao-Tong

2018-01-01

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is one of the leading modes of interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO). The response of IOD to global warming is quite uncertain in climate model projections. In this study, the uncertainty in IOD change under global warming, especially that resulting from internal variability, is investigated based on the community earth system model large ensemble (CESM-LE). For the IOD amplitude change, the inter-member uncertainty in CESM-LE is about 50% of the intermodel uncertainty in the phase 5 of the coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP5) multimodel ensemble, indicating the important role of internal variability in IOD future projection. In CESM-LE, both the ensemble mean and spread in mean SST warming show a zonal positive IOD-like (pIOD-like) pattern in the TIO. This pIOD-like mean warming regulates ocean-atmospheric feedbacks of the interannual IOD mode, and weakens the skewness of the interannual variability. However, as the changes in oceanic and atmospheric feedbacks counteract each other, the inter-member variability in IOD amplitude change is not correlated with that of the mean state change. Instead, the ensemble spread in IOD amplitude change is correlated with that in ENSO amplitude change in CESM-LE, reflecting the close inter-basin relationship between the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean in this model.

Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals Critical Habitat

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data represent the critical habitat for elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) and staghorn coral (A. cervicornis) as designated by 73 FR 72210, November 26, 2008,...

Nickel and ocean warming affect scleractinian coral growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Biscéré, T; Lorrain, A; Rodolfo-Metalpa, R; Gilbert, A; Wright, A; Devissi, C; Peignon, C; Farman, R; Duvieilbourg, E; Payri, C; Houlbrèque, F

2017-07-15

The sensitivity of corals and their Symbiodinium to warming has been extensively documented; however very few studies considered that anthropogenic inputs such as metal pollution have already an impact on many fringing reefs. Thus, today, nickel releases are common in coastal ecosystems. In this study, two major reef-building species Acropora muricata and Pocillopora damicornis were exposed in situ to ambient and moderate nickel concentrations on a short-term period (1h) using benthic chamber experiments. Simultaneously, we tested in laboratory conditions the combined effects of a chronic exposure (8weeks) to moderate nickel concentrations and ocean warming on A. muricata. The in situ experiment highlighted that nickel enrichment, at ambient temperature, stimulated by 27 to 47% the calcification rates of both species but not their photosynthetic performances. In contrast, an exposure to higher nickel concentration, in combination with elevated temperature simulated in aquaria, severely depressed by 30% the growth of A. muricata. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salinity information in coral δ18O records

Science.gov (United States)

Conroy, J. L.; Thompson, D. M.; Dassié, E. P.; Stevenson, S.; Konecky, B. L.; DeLong, K. L.; Sayani, H. R.; Emile-Geay, J.; Partin, J. W.; Abram, N. J.; Martrat, B.

2017-12-01

Coral oxygen isotopic ratios (δ18O) are typically utilized to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST), or SST-based El Niño-Southern Oscillation metrics (e.g., NIÑO3.4), despite the influence of both SST and the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater (δ18Osw) on coral δ18O. The ideal way to isolate past δ18Osw variations is to develop independent and univariate SST and δ18Osw responders, for instance, via paired coral δ18O and Sr/Ca analyses. Nonetheless, many coral δ18O records without paired Sr/Ca records already exist in the paleoclimatic literature, and these may be able to provide some insight into past δ18Osw and salinity changes due to the nature of the significant positive relationship between instrumental salinity and δ18Osw. Here we use coral δ18O records from the new PAGES Iso2k database to assess the regions in which coral δ18O has the greatest potential to provide salinity information based on the strength of the relationship between instrumental salinity and coral δ18O values. We find from annual pseudocoral similations that corals in the western tropical Pacific share a substantial fraction of their variance with δ18Osw rather than SST. In contrast, in the Indian Ocean and eastern tropical Pacific it is SST that predominantly explains coral δ18O variance. In agreement with this variance decomposition, we find that coral δ18O time series from the western tropical Pacific are significantly correlated with mid to late 20th century salinity. However, variations in the strength of the δ18Osw-salinity relationship across the western tropical Pacific will likely have a significant influence on coral δ18O-based salinity reconstructions. Additionally, in some cases a strong, negative correlation between SST and δ18Osw might not allow their influences to be adequately separated in coral δ18O records without the use of coupled Sr/Ca estimates of the temperature contribution. Overall, we find a range of modern salinity and SST

A new dipole index of the salinity anomalies of the tropical Indian Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junde; Liang, Chujin; Tang, Youmin; Dong, Changming; Chen, Dake; Liu, Xiaohui; Jin, Weifang

2016-04-07

With the increased interest in studying the sea surface salinity anomaly (SSSA) of the tropical Indian Ocean during the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), an index describing the dipole variability of the SSSA has been pursued recently. In this study, we first use a regional ocean model with a high spatial resolution to produce a high-quality salinity simulation during the period from 1982 to 2014, from which the SSSA dipole structure is identified for boreal autumn. On this basis, by further analysing the observed data, we define a dipole index of the SSSA between the central equatorial Indian Ocean (CEIO: 70°E-90°E, 5°S-5°N) and the region off the Sumatra-Java coast (SJC: 100°E-110°E, 13°S-3°S). Compared with previous SSSA dipole indices, this index has advantages in detecting the dipole signals and in characterizing their relationship to the sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) dipole variability. Finally, the mechanism of the SSSA dipole is investigated by dynamical diagnosis. It is found that anomalous zonal advection dominates the SSSA in the CEIO region, whereas the SSSA in the SJC region are mainly influenced by the anomalous surface freshwater flux. This SSSA dipole provides a positive feedback to the formation of the IOD events.

Deep-Sea Soft Coral Habitat Suitability

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Deep-sea corals, also known as cold water corals, create complex communities that provide habitat for a variety of invertebrate and fish species, such as grouper,...

Deep-Sea Stony Coral Habitat Suitability

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Deep-sea corals, also known as cold water corals, create complex communities that provide habitat for a variety of invertebrate and fish species, such as grouper,...

Distribution, ecology and polymorphic behaviour of the genus Oxycephalus (Hyperiidea, Oxycephalidae) in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, K.K.C.

There have been many controversies on the number of valid, species under Oxycephalus including the studies made from Indian waters. This is the first comprehensive account on the distribution of this genus covering the entire Indian Ocean through...

Restricted genetic variation in populations of Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica outside of East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands points to the Indian Ocean Islands as the earliest known common source.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontanilla, Ian Kendrich C; Sta Maria, Inna Mikaella P; Garcia, James Rainier M; Ghate, Hemant; Naggs, Fred; Wade, Christopher M

2014-01-01

The Giant African Land Snail, Achatina ( =  Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich, 1822, is a tropical crop pest species with a widespread distribution across East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and North and South America. Its current distribution is attributed primarily to the introduction of the snail to new areas by Man within the last 200 years. This study determined the extent of genetic diversity in global A. fulica populations using the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 560 individuals were evaluated from 39 global populations obtained from 26 territories. Results reveal 18 distinct A. fulica haplotypes; 14 are found in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, but only two haplotypes from the Indian Ocean islands emerged from this region, the C haplotype, now distributed across the tropics, and the D haplotype in Ecuador and Bolivia. Haplotype E from the Philippines, F from New Caledonia and Barbados, O from India and Q from Ecuador are variants of the emergent C haplotype. For the non-native populations, the lack of genetic variation points to founder effects due to the lack of multiple introductions from the native range. Our current data could only point with certainty to the Indian Ocean islands as the earliest known common source of A. fulica across the globe, which necessitates further sampling in East Africa to determine the source populations of the emergent haplotypes.

Restricted genetic variation in populations of Achatina (Lissachatina fulica outside of East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands points to the Indian Ocean Islands as the earliest known common source.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Kendrich C Fontanilla

Full Text Available The Giant African Land Snail, Achatina ( =  Lissachatina fulica Bowdich, 1822, is a tropical crop pest species with a widespread distribution across East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and North and South America. Its current distribution is attributed primarily to the introduction of the snail to new areas by Man within the last 200 years. This study determined the extent of genetic diversity in global A. fulica populations using the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 560 individuals were evaluated from 39 global populations obtained from 26 territories. Results reveal 18 distinct A. fulica haplotypes; 14 are found in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, but only two haplotypes from the Indian Ocean islands emerged from this region, the C haplotype, now distributed across the tropics, and the D haplotype in Ecuador and Bolivia. Haplotype E from the Philippines, F from New Caledonia and Barbados, O from India and Q from Ecuador are variants of the emergent C haplotype. For the non-native populations, the lack of genetic variation points to founder effects due to the lack of multiple introductions from the native range. Our current data could only point with certainty to the Indian Ocean islands as the earliest known common source of A. fulica across the globe, which necessitates further sampling in East Africa to determine the source populations of the emergent haplotypes.

Zonation of uplifted pleistocene coral reefs on barbados, west indies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesolella, K J

1967-05-05

The coral species composition of uplifted Pleistocene reefs on Barbados is very similar to Recent West Indian reefs. Acropora palmata, Acropora cervicornis, and Montastrea annularis are qtuantitatively the most important of the coral species.

Fellowship | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Address: Director, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, .... Address: Visiting Professor, CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology, ..... Specialization: Elementary Particles & High Energy Physics, Plasma Physics and Atomic Physics

Studying the Indian Ocean Ridge System: Agenda for the new century

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mukhopadhyay, R.; Iyer, S.D.; Banerjee, R.; Drolia, R.K.

Studies on the Indian Ocean Ridge System, though sporadic, was aimed to map the complete IORS petrologically and tectonically. Three areas are placed for immediate investigation; one in the slow spreading Carlsberg Ridge area, the second, along...

Benthic disturbance and monitoring experiment in the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sharma, R.; Nath, B.N.

Environmental impact assessment studies for deep-sea manganese nodule mining have been initiated in the Central indian Ocean Basin since 1995. As a part of the first phase for collecting the benthic baseline data, echosounding, subbottom profiling...

75 FR 48934 - Coral Reef Conservation Program Implementation Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-12

...-01] RIN 0648-ZC19 Coral Reef Conservation Program Implementation Guidelines AGENCY: National Oceanic... Guidelines (Guidelines) for the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP or Program) under the Coral Reef... assistance for coral reef conservation projects under the Act. NOAA revised the Implementation Guidelines for...

Seasonal Variability of Salt Transports in the Northern Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

D'Addezio, J. M.; Bulusu, S.

2016-02-01

Due to limited observational data in the Indian Ocean compared to other regions of the global ocean, past work on the Northern Indian Ocean (NIO) has relied heavily upon model analysis to study the variability of regional salinity advection caused by the monsoon seasons. With the launch of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite in 2009 and the Aquarius SAC-D mission in 2011 (ended on June 7, 2011), remotely sensed, synoptic scale sea surface salinity (SSS) data is now readily available to study this dynamic region. The new observational data has allowed us to revisit the region to analyze seasonal variability of salinity advection in the NIO using several modeled products, the Aquarius and SMOS satellites, and Argo floats data. The model simulations include the Consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO2), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts - Ocean Reanalysis System 4 (ECMWF-ORSA4), Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) Reanalysis, and HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Our analyses of salinity at the surface and at depths up to 200 m, surface salt transport in the top 5 m layer, and depth-integrated salt transports revealed different salinity processes in the NIO that are dominantly related to the semi-annual monsoons. Aquarius and SMOS prove useful tools for observing this dynamic region, and reveal some aspects of SSS that Argo cannot resolve. Meridional depth-integrated salt transports using the modeled products along 6°N revealed dominant advective processes from the surface towards near-bottom depths. Finally, a difference in subsurface salinity stratification causes many of the modeled products to incorrectly estimate the magnitude and seasonality of NIO barrier layer thickness (BLT) when compared to the Argo solution. This problem is also evident in model output from the Seychelles-Chagos Thermocline Ridge (SCTR), a region with strong air-sea teleconnections with the Arabian Sea.

Anomalous intraseasonal events in the thermocline ridge region of Southern Tropical Indian Ocean and their regional impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakumar, A.; Gnanaseelan, C.

2012-03-01

The present study explores the mechanisms responsible for the strong intraseasonal cooling events in the Thermocline Ridge region of the southwestern Indian Ocean. Air sea interface and oceanic processes associated with Madden Julian Oscillation are studied using an Ocean General Circulation Model and satellite observations. Sensitivity experiments are designed to understand the ocean response to intraseasonal forcing with a special emphasis on 2002 cooling events, which recorded the strongest intraseasonal perturbations during the last well-observed decade. This event is characterized by anomalous Walker circulation over the tropical Indian Ocean and persistent intraseasonal heat flux anomaly for a longer duration than is typical for similar events (but without any favorable preconditioning of ocean basic state at the interannual timescale). The model heat budget analysis during 1996 to 2007 revealed an in-phase relationship between atmospheric fluxes associated with Madden Julian Oscillation and the subsurface oceanic processes during the intense cooling events of 2002. The strong convection, reduced shortwave radiation and increased evaporation have contributed to the upper ocean heat loss in addition to the slower propagation of active phase of convection, which supported the integration of longer duration of forcing. The sensitivity experiments revealed that dynamic response of ocean through entrainment at the intraseasonal timescale primarily controls the biological response during the event, with oceanic interannual variability playing a secondary role. This study further speculates the role of oceanic intraseasonal variability in the 2002 droughts over Indian subcontinent.

Compartmental models for assessing the fishery production in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Dalal, S.G.; Parulekar, A.H.

Compartmental models for assessing the fishery production in the Indian Ocean is discussed. The article examines the theoretical basis on which modern fishery sciences is built. The model shows that, large changes in energy flux from one pathway...

Respiration of Mediterranean cold-water corals is not affected by ocean acidification as projected for the end of the century

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, C.; Bils, F.; Weinbauer, M. G.; Watremez, P.; Peck, M. A.; Gattuso, J.-P.

2013-08-01

The rise of CO2 has been identified as a major threat to life in the ocean. About one-third of the anthropogenic CO2 produced in the last 200 yr has been taken up by the ocean, leading to ocean acidification. Surface seawater pH is projected to decrease by about 0.4 units between the pre-industrial revolution and 2100. The branching cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are important, habitat-forming species in the deep Mediterranean Sea. Although previous research has investigated the abundance and distribution of these species, little is known regarding their ecophysiology and potential responses to global environmental change. A previous study indicated that the rate of calcification of these two species remained constant up to 1000 μatm CO2, a value that is at the upper end of changes projected to occur by 2100. We examined whether the ability to maintain calcification rates in the face of rising pCO2 affected the energetic requirements of these corals. Over the course of three months, rates of respiration were measured at a pCO2 ranging between 350 and 1100 μatm to distinguish between short-term response and longer-term acclimation. Respiration rates ranged from 0.074 to 0.266 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight)-1 h-1 and 0.095 to 0.725 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight)-1 h-1 for L. pertusa and M. oculata, respectively, and were independent of pCO2. Respiration increased with time likely due to regular feeding, which may have provided an increased energy supply to sustain coral metabolism. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the insensitivity of respiration to increasing pCO2 is a general feature of deep-sea corals in other regions.

Respiration of Mediterranean cold-water corals is not affected by ocean acidification as projected for the end of the century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Maier

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The rise of CO2 has been identified as a major threat to life in the ocean. About one-third of the anthropogenic CO2 produced in the last 200 yr has been taken up by the ocean, leading to ocean acidification. Surface seawater pH is projected to decrease by about 0.4 units between the pre-industrial revolution and 2100. The branching cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are important, habitat-forming species in the deep Mediterranean Sea. Although previous research has investigated the abundance and distribution of these species, little is known regarding their ecophysiology and potential responses to global environmental change. A previous study indicated that the rate of calcification of these two species remained constant up to 1000 μatm CO2, a value that is at the upper end of changes projected to occur by 2100. We examined whether the ability to maintain calcification rates in the face of rising pCO2 affected the energetic requirements of these corals. Over the course of three months, rates of respiration were measured at a pCO2 ranging between 350 and 1100 μatm to distinguish between short-term response and longer-term acclimation. Respiration rates ranged from 0.074 to 0.266 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight−1 h−1 and 0.095 to 0.725 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight−1 h−1 for L. pertusa and M. oculata, respectively, and were independent of pCO2. Respiration increased with time likely due to regular feeding, which may have provided an increased energy supply to sustain coral metabolism. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the insensitivity of respiration to increasing pCO2 is a general feature of deep-sea corals in other regions.

Tropical CO2 seeps reveal the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef invertebrate recruitment.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Ro; Foggo, Andrew; Fabricius, Katharina; Balistreri, Annalisa; Hall-Spencer, Jason M

2017-11-30

Rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification by reducing seawater pH and carbonate saturation levels. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that many larval and juvenile marine invertebrates are vulnerable to these changes in surface ocean chemistry, but challenges remain in predicting effects at community and ecosystem levels. We investigated the effect of ocean acidification on invertebrate recruitment at two coral reef CO 2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. Invertebrate communities differed significantly between 'reference' (median pH7.97, 8.00), 'high CO 2 ' (median pH7.77, 7.79), and 'extreme CO 2 ' (median pH7.32, 7.68) conditions at each reef. There were also significant reductions in calcifying taxa, copepods and amphipods as CO 2 levels increased. The observed shifts in recruitment were comparable to those previously described in the Mediterranean, revealing an ecological mechanism by which shallow coastal systems are affected by near-future levels of ocean acidification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bythaelurus vivaldii, a new deep-water catshark (Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae) from the northwestern Indian Ocean off Somalia.

Science.gov (United States)

Weigmann, Simon; Kaschner, Carina Julia

2017-05-08

A new very small deep-water catshark, Bythaelurus vivaldii, is described based on two female specimens caught off Somalia in the northwestern Indian Ocean during the German 'Valdivia' expedition in 1899. It is morphologically closest to the recently described B. bachi, which is the only other Bythaelurus species in the western Indian Ocean that shares a stout body of large specimens and the presence of oral papillae. It further resembles B. vivaldii in the broad mouth and broad posterior head, but differs in the presence of composite oral papillae and a higher diversity in dermal denticle morphology. Additionally, the new species differs from all congeners in the western Indian Ocean in a larger pre-second dorsal fin length, a longer head, a larger interdorsal space, a larger intergill length, a longer pectoral-fin posterior margin, a shorter caudal fin, an intermediate caudal fin preventral margin, and a larger internarial width. Furthermore, the second dorsal fin of the new species is smaller than in its congeners in the western Indian Ocean except for B. lutarius, which is easily distinguished by the slender body and virtual absence of oral papillae, as well as the aforementioned further characters. An updated key to all valid species of Bythaelurus is provided.

Annual and interannual variation of precipitation over the tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

RameshKumar, M.R.; Prasad, T.G.

/month, and the lowest amplitudes are found in the western Indian Ocean, especially off the Arabian and east African coasts. The INSAT and GEOS Precipitation Index (GPI) rainfall estimates correlated reasonably well with the island rainfall data, with correlation...

Seasonal mixed layer heat balance of the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Foltz, G.R.; Vialard, J.; PraveenKumar, B.; McPhaden, M.J.

from a long-term moored buoy are used in conjunction with satellite, in situ, and atmospheric reanalysis datasets to analyze the seasonal mixed layer heat balance in the thermocline ridge region of the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean. This region...

Influence of Mascarene High and Indian Ocean dipole on East African extreme weather events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ogwang Bob Alex

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Extreme weather and climate events such as floods and droughts are common in East Africa, causing huge socio-economic losses. This study links the east African October-December (OND rainfall, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD and Mascarene High (MH.Correlation analysis is applied to quantify the relationship between the index of IOD (Dipole Mode Index (DMI and OND rainfall. Results show that there exists a significant correlation between OND rainfall and DMI, with a correlation coefficient of 0.6. During dry years, MH is observed to intensify and align itself in the southeast-northwest orientation, stretching up to the continent, which in turn inhibits the influx of moisture from Indian Ocean into East Africa. During wet years, MH weakens, shifts to the east and aligns itself in the zonal orientation. Moisture from Indian Ocean is freely transported into east Africa during wet years. Analysis of the drought and flood years with respect to the different variables including wind, velocity potential and divergence/ convergence revealed that the drought (flood years were characterized by divergence (convergence in the lower troposphere and convergence (divergence at the upper level, implying sinking (rising motion, especially over the western Indian Ocean and the study area. Convergence at low level gives rise to vertical stretching, whereas divergence results in vertical shrinking, which suppresses convection due to subsidence. Positive IOD (Negative IOD event results into flood (drought in the region. The evolution of these phenomena can thus be keenly observed for utilization in the update of seasonal forecasts.

Incongruence between morphotypes and genetically delimited species in the coral genus Stylophora: phenotypic plasticity, morphological convergence, morphological stasis or interspecific hybridization?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flot Jean-François

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Morphological data suggest that, unlike most other groups of marine organisms, scleractinian corals of the genus Stylophora are more diverse in the western Indian Ocean and in the Red Sea than in the central Indo-Pacific. However, the morphology of corals is often a poor predictor of their actual biodiversity: hence, we conducted a genetic survey of Stylophora corals collected in Madagascar, Okinawa, the Philippines and New Caledonia in an attempt to find out the true number of species in these various locations. Results A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial ORF and putative control region concurs with a haploweb analysis of nuclear ITS2 sequences in delimiting three species among our dataset: species A and B are found in Madagascar whereas species C occurs in Okinawa, the Philippines and New Caledonia. Comparison of ITS1 sequences from these three species with data available online suggests that species C is also found on the Great Barrier Reef, in Malaysia, in the South China Sea and in Taiwan, and that a distinct species D occurs in the Red Sea. Shallow-water morphs of species A correspond to the morphological description of Stylophora madagascarensis, species B presents the morphology of Stylophora mordax, whereas species C comprises various morphotypes including Stylophora pistillata and Stylophora mordax. Conclusions Genetic analysis of the coral genus Stylophora reveals species boundaries that are not congruent with morphological traits. Of the four hypotheses that may explain such discrepancy (phenotypic plasticity, morphological stasis, morphological convergence, and interspecific hybridization, the first two appear likely to play a role but the fourth one is rejected since mitochondrial and nuclear markers yield congruent species delimitations. The position of the root in our molecular phylogenies suggests that the center of origin of Stylophora is located in the western Indian Ocean, which probably

Large-Scale Examination of Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) from Tropical Tuna Fisheries of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

Maufroy, Alexandra; Chassot, Emmanuel; Joo, Rocío; Kaplan, David Michael

2015-01-01

Since the 1990s, massive use of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) to aggregate tropical tunas has strongly modified global purse-seine fisheries. For the first time, a large data set of GPS positions from buoys deployed by French purse-seiners to monitor dFADs is analysed to provide information on spatio-temporal patterns of dFAD use in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans during 2007-2011. First, we select among four classification methods the model that best separates "at sea" from "on board" buoy positions. A random forest model had the best performance, both in terms of the rate of false "at sea" predictions and the amount of over-segmentation of "at sea" trajectories (i.e., artificial division of trajectories into multiple, shorter pieces due to misclassification). Performance is improved via post-processing removing unrealistically short "at sea" trajectories. Results derived from the selected model enable us to identify the main areas and seasons of dFAD deployment and the spatial extent of their drift. We find that dFADs drift at sea on average for 39.5 days, with time at sea being shorter and distance travelled longer in the Indian than in the Atlantic Ocean. 9.9% of all trajectories end with a beaching event, suggesting that 1,500-2,000 may be lost onshore each year, potentially impacting sensitive habitat areas, such as the coral reefs of the Maldives, the Chagos Archipelago, and the Seychelles.