Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide 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 NUKA ARCTICA in the Davis Strait, Kattegat and others from 2012-01-10 to 2012-12-31 (NCEI Accession 0157390)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157390 includes Surface underway, chemical and physical data collected from NUKA ARCTICA in the Davis Strait, Kattegat, The Sound, Great Belt, Little...

Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide 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 NUKA ARCTICA in the Davis Strait, Kattegat and others from 2007-04-27 to 2008-01-05 (NCEI Accession 0144288)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144288 includes Surface underway data collected from NUKA ARCTICA in the Davis Strait, Kattegat, The Sound, Great Belt, Little Belt, North Atlantic...

Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide 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 NUKA ARCTICA in the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and others from 2013-02-01 to 2013-12-31 (NCEI Accession 0157395)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157395 includes Surface underway, chemical and physical data collected from NUKA ARCTICA in the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Kattegat, The Sound, Great...

Fungal colonization and decomposition of leaves and stems of Salix arctica on deglaciated moraines in high-Arctic Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Osono, Takashi; Matsuoka, Shunsuke; Hirose, Dai; Uchida, Masaki; Kanda, Hiroshi

2014-06-01

Fungal colonization, succession, and decomposition of leaves and stems of Salix arctica were studied to estimate the roles of fungi in the decomposition processes in the high Arctic. The samples were collected from five moraines with different periods of development since deglaciation to investigate the effects of ecosystem development on the decomposition processes during the primary succession. The total hyphal lengths and the length of darkly pigmented hyphae increased during decomposition of leaves and stems and were not varied with the moraines. Four fungal morphotaxa were frequently isolated from both leaves and stems. The frequencies of occurrence of two morphotaxa varied with the decay class of leaves and/or stems. The hyphal lengths and the frequencies of occurrence of fungal morphotaxa were positively or negatively correlated with the contents of organic chemical components and nutrients in leaves and stems, suggesting the roles of fungi in chemical changes in the field. Pure culture decomposition tests demonstrated that the fungal morphotaxa were cellulose decomposers. Our results suggest that fungi took part in the chemical changes in decomposing leaves and stems even under the harsh environment of the high Arctic.

Links between phytoplankton dynamics and shell growth of Arctica islandica on the Faroe Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Bonitz, Fabian Georg Wulf; Andersson, Carin; Trofimova, Tamara; Hátún, Hjálmar

2018-03-01

The phytoplankton dynamics on the Faroe Shelf are strongly connected to higher trophic levels, and their inter-annual variability has great importance for many organisms, including the principal fish stocks. Hence, information on the marked phytoplankton variability is scientifically and economically valuable. We show here that the shell growth variability in Arctica islandica shells has the potential to identify periods of increased and decreased phytoplankton concentrations on the Faroe Shelf and in the wider Faroese region in previous centuries. The growth of A. islandica has often been linked to changes in phytoplankton concentrations, i.e., food availability. By cross-matching life-collected and sub-fossil A. islandica shells from two separate locations on the Faroe Shelf, we have built a master chronology, which reaches back to the 17th century. This master chronology correlates well with a Primary Production index for the Faroe Shelf (r = 0.65; p phytoplankton concentrations over the wider Faroese Channel Region, as represented in the Continuous Plankton Recorder surveys, especially for the months June-September (r = 0.39; p < 0.01). In addition, an inverse relationship is observed between the master chronology and on-shelf water temperatures from June-September (r = - 0.29; p < 0.01), which is likely associated with a previously reported inverse relationship between temperatures and the on-shelf primary production. An analysis of the δ18O in the shells shows that the main growing season of the shells presumably occurs during the spring and summer months, which concurs with the main spring bloom.

Collophore may help direct springtail jump

Science.gov (United States)

The collophore of specimens of Entomobrya multifasciata (Tullberg 1871) is composed of four segments. The third segment telescopes in and out of the second and the fourth is an eversible vesicle that is entirely enclosed in the third when not deployed. The four segments are each likely serial homolo...

Comparisons of multiple isotope systems in the aragonitic shells of cultured Arctica islandica clams

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y. W.; Aciego, S.; Wanamaker, A. D.

2014-12-01

Previous work using oxygen and stable carbon isotopes from Arctica islandica shells has shown that this archive can provide information on past seawater temperatures, carbon cycling and ocean circulation. However, relatively less attention has been devoted to other "non-traditional" isotope systems within this proxy archive. In this study, we report the boron (δ11B) and strontium isotopic values (87Sr/86Sr and δ88/86Sr) from A. islandicashells collected and cultured from the Gulf of Maine. The long-lived ocean quahog, A. islandica was collected and cultured in the Gulf of Maine for 8 months. Our high-resolution δ11B records from the experiment show 5-7‰ of increase through the culture, with low values from January to May and higher values after May. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios from both tank water and shell samples suggest that the shell material reflects ambient ocean chemistry without interferences from terrestrial sources. Although It has been suggested that stable Sr isotopic ratios (δ88/86Sr) in biogenic carbonates are influenced by the temperature of the precipitating fluid, our nearly identical δ88/86Sr data do not support this hypothesis despite a 15 °C temperature change during the experiment. Based on the in-situ measurements of culture seawater temperature, salinity and pH, and two commonly used fractionation factors (α3-4) for corals and forams, we predicted the range in shell δ11B values for the experiment. Our boron results are at the extreme ends of the two prediction lines suggesting the potential usage of the bivalve shells as seawater pH indicator. However, the wider range in δ11B in this experiment than the predictions based on other carbonate organisms (only 2 to 3‰) suggests that a species-specific fractionation factor may be required. Recent work from an additional constant temperature experiment (10 and 15 °C) in the Gulf of Maine will allow us to further evaluate temperature influences and potential vital effects on the shell boron

Connections between the growth of Arctica islandica and phytoplankton dynamics on the Faroe Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Bonitz, Fabian; Andersson, Carin; Trofimova, Tamara

2017-04-01

In this study we use molluscan sclerochronological techniques in order to obtain closer insights into environmental and ecological dynamics of Faroe Shelf waters. The Faroe Shelf represents a special ecosystem with rich benthic and neritic communities, which also have great importance for many economically relevant fish stocks. Thus, a better understanding of seasonal and year-to-year phytoplankton and stratification dynamics would be useful because they also have implications for higher trophic levels. The water masses of the Faroe Shelf are fairly homogenous and isolated from off-shelf waters but at a certain depth, which is referred to as transition zone, seasonal stratification and horizontal exchange occur. Systematic observations and phytoplankton dynamic investigations have only been performed during the last 29 years but longer records are missing. Thus, we use the growth increment variability in long-lived Arctica islandica shells from the transition zone of the eastern Faroe Shelf to evaluate its potential to estimate on-shelf phytoplankton and stratification dynamics since previous studies have shown that the growth of A. islandica is highly dependent on food availability. We have built a shell-based master-chronology reaching back to the 17th century. Comparisons between the growth indices of our chronology and fluorescence data reveal significant positive relationships. In combination with an index that accounts for stratification even stronger correlations are obtained. This indicates that the growth of A. islandica is largely influenced by a combination of how much phytoplankton is produced and how much actually reaches the bottom, i.e. how well-mixed the water column is. Further significant positive correlations can also be found between the growth indices and other primary productivity data from the Faroe Shelf. In conclusion, our results suggest that the growth indices can be related to year-to-year changes in phytoplankton production and

Sex- and habitat-specific responses of a high arctic willow, Salix arctica, to experimental climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, M.H.; Macdonald, S.E. [Univ. of Alberta, Dept. of Renewable Resources, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Henry, G.H.R. [Univ. of British Columbia, Dept. of Geography, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

1999-10-01

Dioecious plant species and those occupying diverse habitats may present special analytical problems to researchers examining effects of climate change. Here we report the results from two complementary studies designed to determine the importance of sex and habitat on gas exchange and growth of male and female individuals of a dioecious, circumpolar willow, Salix arctica, in the Canadian High Arctic. In field studies, male and female willows from dry and wet habitats were subjected to passively enhanced summer temperature ({approx} to 1.3 deg C) using small open-top chambers over three years. Peak season gas exchange varied significantly by willow sex and habitat. Overall net assimilation was higher in the dry habitat than in the wet, and higher in females than in males. In the dry habitat, net assimilation of females was enhanced by experimental warming, but decreased in males. In the wet habitat, net assimilation of females was substantially depressed by experimental warming, while males showed an inconsistent response. Development and growth of male and female catkins were enhanced by elevated temperature more than leaf fascicles, but leaf fascicle development and growth varied more between the two habitats, particularly in males. In a controlled environment study, male and female willows from these same wet and dry habitats were grown in a 2x2 factorial experiment including 1 x or 2 x ambient [CO{sub 2}] and 5 or 12 deg. C. The sexes responded very differently to the experimental treatments, but we found no effect of original habitat. Net assimilation in males was affected by the interaction of temperature and CO{sub 2}, but in females by CO{sub 2} only. Our results demonstrate (a) significant intraspecific and intersexual differences in arctic willow physiology and growth, (b) that these differences are affected by environmental conditions expected to accompany global climate change, and (c) that sex- and habitat-specific responses should be explicitly

Elemental and Isotopic Incorporation into the Aragonitic Shells of Arctica Islandica: Insights from Temperature Controlled Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Wanamaker, A. D.; Gillikin, D. P.

2014-12-01

The long-lived ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, is a fairly well developed and tested marine proxy archive, however, the utility of elemental ratios in A. islandica shell material as environmental proxies remains questionable. To further evaluate the influence of seawater temperature on elemental and isotopic incorporation during biomineralization, A. islandica shells were grown at constant temperatures under two regimes during a 16-week period from March 27 to July 21, 2011. Seawater from the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Maine was pumped into temperature and flow controlled tanks that were exposed to ambient food and salinity conditions. A total of 20 individual juvenile clams with an average shell height of 36 mm were stained with calcein (a commonly used biomarker) and cultured at 10.3 ± 0.3 °C for six weeks. After this, shell heights were measured and the clams were again stained with calcein and cultured at 15.0 ± 0.4 °C for an additional 9.5 weeks. The average shell growth during the first phase of the experiment was 2.4 mm with a linear extension rate of 0.40 mm/week. The average shell growth during the second phase of the experiment was 3.2 mm with an extension rate of 0.34 mm/week. Average salinity values were 30.2 ± 0.7 and 30.7 ±0.7 in the first and second phases of the experiment, respectively. Oxygen isotopes from the cultured seawater were collected throughout the experiment and provide the basis for establishing if shells grew in oxygen isotopic equilibrium. Elemental ratios (primarily Ba/Ca, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) in the aragonitic shells were determined via laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), while stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios were measured using continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Continuous sampling within and across the temperature conditions (from 10 °C to 15 °C) coupled with the calcein markings provides the ability to place each sample into a precise temporal framework. The

Environmental controls on the boron and strontium isotopic composition of aragonite shell material of cultured Arctica islandica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.-W. Liu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Ocean acidification, the decrease in ocean pH associated with increasing atmospheric CO2, is likely to impact marine organisms, particularly those that produce carbonate skeletons or shells. Therefore, it is important to investigate how environmental factors (seawater pH, temperature and salinity influence the chemical compositions in biogenic carbonates. In this study we report the first high-resolution strontium (87Sr / 86Sr and δ88 / 86Sr and boron (δ11B isotopic values in the aragonite shell of cultured Arctica islandica (A. islandica. The 87Sr / 86Sr ratios from both tank water and shell samples show ratios nearly identical to the open ocean, which suggests that the shell material reflects ambient ocean chemistry without terrestrial influence. The 84Sr–87Sr double-spike-resolved shell δ88 / 86Sr and Sr concentration data show no resolvable change throughout the culture period and reflect no theoretical kinetic mass fractionation throughout the experiment despite a temperature change of more than 15 °C. The δ11B records from the experiment show at least a 5‰ increase through the 29-week culture season (January 2010–August 2010, with low values from the beginning to week 19 and higher values thereafter. The larger range in δ11B in this experiment compared to predictions based on other carbonate organisms (2–3‰ suggests that a species-specific fractionation factor may be required. A significant correlation between the ΔpH (pHshell − pHsw and seawater pH (pHsw was observed (R2 = 0.35, where the pHshell is the calcification pH of the shell calculated from boron isotopic composition. This negative correlation suggests that A. islandica partly regulates the pH of the extrapallial fluid. However, this proposed mechanism only explains approximately 35% of the variance in the δ11B data. Instead, a rapid rise in δ11B of the shell material after week 19, during the summer, suggests that the boron uptake changes when a thermal

Gene expression and physiological changes of different populations of the long-lived bivalve Arctica islandica under low oxygen conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva E R Philipp

Full Text Available The bivalve Arctica islandica is extremely long lived (>400 years and can tolerate long periods of hypoxia and anoxia. European populations differ in maximum life spans (MLSP from 40 years in the Baltic to >400 years around Iceland. Characteristic behavior of A. islandica involves phases of metabolic rate depression (MRD during which the animals burry into the sediment for several days. During these phases the shell water oxygen concentrations reaches hypoxic to anoxic levels, which possibly support the long life span of some populations. We investigated gene regulation in A. islandica from a long-lived (MLSP 150 years German Bight population and the short-lived Baltic Sea population, experimentally exposed to different oxygen levels. A new A. islandica transcriptome enabled the identification of genes important during hypoxia/anoxia events and, more generally, gene mining for putative stress response and (anti- aging genes. Expression changes of a antioxidant defense: Catalase, Glutathione peroxidase, manganese and copper-zinc Superoxide dismutase; b oxygen sensing and general stress response: Hypoxia inducible factor alpha, Prolyl hydroxylase and Heat-shock protein 70; and c anaerobic capacity: Malate dehydrogenase and Octopine dehydrogenase, related transcripts were investigated. Exposed to low oxygen, German Bight individuals suppressed transcription of all investigated genes, whereas Baltic Sea bivalves enhanced gene transcription under anoxic incubation (0 kPa and, further, decreased these transcription levels again during 6 h of re-oxygenation. Hypoxic and anoxic exposure and subsequent re-oxygenation in Baltic Sea animals did not lead to increased protein oxidation or induction of apoptosis, emphasizing considerable hypoxia/re-oxygenation tolerance in this species. The data suggest that the energy saving effect of MRD may not be an attribute of Baltic Sea A. islandica chronically exposed to high environmental variability (oxygenation

Seasonality of bottom water temperature in the northern North Sea reconstructed from the oxygen isotope composition of the bivalve Arctica islandica

Science.gov (United States)

Trofimova, Tamara; Andersson, Carin; Bonitz, Fabian

2017-04-01

The seasonality of temperature changes is an important characteristic of climate. However, observational data for the ocean are only available for the last 150 year from a limited number of locations. Prior to 18th century information is only available from proxy reconstructions. The vast majority of such reconstructions depend on land-based archives, primarily from dendrochronology. Established marine proxy records for the ocean, especially at high latitudes, are both sparsely distributed and poorly resolved in time. Therefore, the identification and development of proxies for studying key ocean processes at sub-annual resolution that can extend the marine instrumental record is a clear priority in marine climate science. In this study, we have developed a record of early Holocene seasonal variability of bottom water temperature from the Viking Bank in the northern most North Sea. This area is of a particular interest since the hydrography is controlled by the inflow of Atlantic water. The reconstruction is based on the oxygen isotope composition of the growth increments in two sub-fossil shells of Arctica islandica (Bivalvia), dated to 9600-9335 cal. yr BP. By combining radiocarbon dating and sclerochronological techniques a floating chronology spanning over 200 years was constructed. Using the chronology as an age model, oxygen isotope measurements from 2 shells were combined into a 22-years long record. The results from this oxygen isotope record are compared with stable oxygen isotope profiles from modern shells to estimate changes in the mean state and seasonality between present and early Holocene. Shell-derived oxygen isotope values together with ice-volume corrected oxygen isotope values for the seawater were used to calculate bottom-water temperatures on a sub-annual time-scale. Preliminary results of the reconstructed early Holocene bottom water temperature indicate higher seasonality and lower minimum temperature compared to the present.

The occurrence of auks Alcidae at Blaavandshuk, southwest Jutland, 1963-1985

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouritsen, Kim Nørgaard

1991-01-01

Keywords: Alca torda, Uria aalge, Cepphus grylle, Alle alle, Fratercula arctica, migration, North Sea movements, wind direction, wind force, cyclone passages, change in occurrence, prey.......Keywords: Alca torda, Uria aalge, Cepphus grylle, Alle alle, Fratercula arctica, migration, North Sea movements, wind direction, wind force, cyclone passages, change in occurrence, prey....

Experimental diagenesis: insights into aragonite to calcite transformation of Arctica islandica shells by hydrothermal treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Casella, Laura A.; Griesshaber, Erika; Yin, Xiaofei; Ziegler, Andreas; Mavromatis, Vasileios; Müller, Dirk; Ritter, Ann-Christine; Hippler, Dorothee; Harper, Elizabeth M.; Dietzel, Martin; Immenhauser, Adrian; Schöne, Bernd R.; Angiolini, Lucia; Schmahl, Wolfgang W.

2017-03-01

Biomineralised hard parts form the most important physical fossil record of past environmental conditions. However, living organisms are not in thermodynamic equilibrium with their environment and create local chemical compartments within their bodies where physiologic processes such as biomineralisation take place. In generating their mineralised hard parts, most marine invertebrates produce metastable aragonite rather than the stable polymorph of CaCO3, calcite. After death of the organism the physiological conditions, which were present during biomineralisation, are not sustained any further and the system moves toward inorganic equilibrium with the surrounding inorganic geological system. Thus, during diagenesis the original biogenic structure of aragonitic tissue disappears and is replaced by inorganic structural features. In order to understand the diagenetic replacement of biogenic aragonite to non-biogenic calcite, we subjected Arctica islandica mollusc shells to hydrothermal alteration experiments. Experimental conditions were between 100 and 175 °C, with the main focus on 100 and 175 °C, reaction durations between 1 and 84 days, and alteration fluids simulating meteoric and burial waters, respectively. Detailed microstructural and geochemical data were collected for samples altered at 100 °C (and at 0.1 MPa pressure) for 28 days and for samples altered at 175 °C (and at 0.9 MPa pressure) for 7 and 84 days. During hydrothermal alteration at 100 °C for 28 days most but not the entire biopolymer matrix was destroyed, while shell aragonite and its characteristic microstructure was largely preserved. In all experiments up to 174 °C, there are no signs of a replacement reaction of shell aragonite to calcite in X-ray diffraction bulk analysis. At 175 °C the replacement reaction started after a dormant time of 4 days, and the original shell microstructure was almost completely overprinted by the aragonite to calcite replacement reaction after 10 days

Crystal structure of a cold-active protease (Pro21717) from the psychrophilic bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas arctica PAMC 21717, at 1.4 Å resolution: Structural adaptations to cold and functional analysis of a laundry detergent enzyme.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ha Ju; Lee, Chang Woo; Kim, Dockyu; Do, Hackwon; Han, Se Jong; Kim, Jung Eun; Koo, Bon-Hun; Lee, Jun Hyuck; Yim, Joung Han

2018-01-01

Enzymes isolated from organisms found in cold habitats generally exhibit higher catalytic activity at low temperatures than their mesophilic homologs and are therefore known as cold-active enzymes. Cold-active proteases are very useful in a variety of biotechnological applications, particularly as active ingredients in laundry and dishwashing detergents, where they provide strong protein-degrading activity in cold water. We identified a cold-active protease (Pro21717) from a psychrophilic bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas arctica PAMC 21717, and determined the crystal structure of its catalytic domain (CD) at a resolution of 1.4 Å. The Pro21717-CD structure shows a conserved subtilisin-like fold with a typical catalytic triad (Asp185, His244, and Ser425) and contains four calcium ions and three disulfide bonds. Interestingly, we observed an unexpected electron density at the substrate-binding site from a co-purified peptide. Although the sequence of this peptide is unknown, analysis of the peptide-complexed structure nonetheless provides some indication of the substrate recognition and binding mode of Pro21717. Moreover, various parameters, including a wide substrate pocket size, an abundant active-site loop content, and a flexible structure provide potential explanations for the cold-adapted properties of Pro21717. In conclusion, this is first structural characterization of a cold-adapted subtilisin-like protease, and these findings provide a structural and functional basis for industrial applications of Pro21717 as a cold-active laundry or dishwashing detergent enzyme.

Behavioral responses of Arctica islandica (Bivalvia: Arcticidae) to simulated leakages of carbon dioxide from sub-sea geological storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bamber, Shaw D.; Westerlund, Stig

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Valve pumping activity in A. islandica significantly increased at pH 6.2 seawater. • Changes in valve movements were not related to attempted burrowing activities. • Valve activity returned to control levels after 5 days of continuous exposure. • A. islandica tolerate pH reductions likely to follow leakage of sub-sea stored CO_2. - Abstract: Sub-sea geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO_2) provides a viable option for the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) approach for reducing atmospheric emissions of this greenhouse gas. Although generally considered to offer a low risk of major leakage, it remains relevant to establish the possible consequences for marine organisms that live in or on sediments overlying these storage areas if such an event may occur. The present study has used a series of laboratory exposures and behavioral bioassays to establish the sensitivity of Arctica islandica to simulated leakages of CO_2. This long-lived bivalve mollusc is widely distributed throughout the North Sea, an area where geological storage is currently taking place and where there are plans to expand this operation significantly. A recently published model has predicted a maximum drop of 1.9 pH units in seawater at the point source of a substantial escape of CO_2 from sub-sea geological storage in this region. Valve movements of A. islandica exposed to reduced pH seawater were recorded continuously using Hall effect proximity sensors. Valve movement regulation is important for optimising the flow of water over the gills, which supplies food and facilitates respiration. A stepwise reduction in seawater pH showed an initial increase in both the rate and extent of valve movements in the majority of individuals tested when pH fell to 6.2 units. Exposing A. islandica to pH 6.2 seawater continuously for seven days resulted in a clear increase in valve movements during the first 40 h of exposure, followed by a gradual reduction in activity intensity over the

Behavioral responses of Arctica islandica (Bivalvia: Arcticidae) to simulated leakages of carbon dioxide from sub-sea geological storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bamber, Shaw D., E-mail: shaw.bamber@iris.no; Westerlund, Stig, E-mail: sw@iris.no

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Valve pumping activity in A. islandica significantly increased at pH 6.2 seawater. • Changes in valve movements were not related to attempted burrowing activities. • Valve activity returned to control levels after 5 days of continuous exposure. • A. islandica tolerate pH reductions likely to follow leakage of sub-sea stored CO{sub 2}. - Abstract: Sub-sea geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) provides a viable option for the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) approach for reducing atmospheric emissions of this greenhouse gas. Although generally considered to offer a low risk of major leakage, it remains relevant to establish the possible consequences for marine organisms that live in or on sediments overlying these storage areas if such an event may occur. The present study has used a series of laboratory exposures and behavioral bioassays to establish the sensitivity of Arctica islandica to simulated leakages of CO{sub 2}. This long-lived bivalve mollusc is widely distributed throughout the North Sea, an area where geological storage is currently taking place and where there are plans to expand this operation significantly. A recently published model has predicted a maximum drop of 1.9 pH units in seawater at the point source of a substantial escape of CO{sub 2} from sub-sea geological storage in this region. Valve movements of A. islandica exposed to reduced pH seawater were recorded continuously using Hall effect proximity sensors. Valve movement regulation is important for optimising the flow of water over the gills, which supplies food and facilitates respiration. A stepwise reduction in seawater pH showed an initial increase in both the rate and extent of valve movements in the majority of individuals tested when pH fell to 6.2 units. Exposing A. islandica to pH 6.2 seawater continuously for seven days resulted in a clear increase in valve movements during the first 40 h of exposure, followed by a gradual reduction in activity

On Bourletiella (Cassagnaudiella) pruinosa (Tullberg, 1871) and its allies (Collembola: Sminthuridae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ellis, Willem N.

1975-01-01

In dry dune vegetations in the Netherlands a species of Bourletiella occurs that is closely related to B. pistillum Gisin, 1946, and B. radula Gisin, 1946. The species is characterized by a virtually obligatory sexual neutralisation of all males throughout the summer. A study of type material proved

Arbuscular mycorrhizas are present on Spitsbergen.

Science.gov (United States)

Newsham, K K; Eidesen, P B; Davey, M L; Axelsen, J; Courtecuisse, E; Flintrop, C; Johansson, A G; Kiepert, M; Larsen, S E; Lorberau, K E; Maurset, M; McQuilkin, J; Misiak, M; Pop, A; Thompson, S; Read, D J

2017-10-01

A previous study of 76 plant species on Spitsbergen in the High Arctic concluded that structures resembling arbuscular mycorrhizas were absent from roots. Here, we report a survey examining the roots of 13 grass and forb species collected from 12 sites on the island for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonisation. Of the 102 individuals collected, we recorded AM endophytes in the roots of 41 plants of 11 species (Alopecurus ovatus, Deschampsia alpina, Festuca rubra ssp. richardsonii, putative viviparous hybrids of Poa arctica and Poa pratensis, Poa arctica ssp. arctica, Trisetum spicatum, Coptidium spitsbergense, Ranunculus nivalis, Ranunculus pygmaeus, Ranunculus sulphureus and Taraxacum arcticum) sampled from 10 sites. Both coarse AM endophyte, with hyphae of 5-10 μm width, vesicles and occasional arbuscules, and fine endophyte, consisting of hyphae of 1-3 μm width and sparse arbuscules, were recorded in roots. Coarse AM hyphae, vesicles, arbuscules and fine endophyte hyphae occupied 1.0-30.7, 0.8-18.3, 0.7-11.9 and 0.7-12.8% of the root lengths of colonised plants, respectively. Principal component analysis indicated no associations between the abundances of AM structures in roots and edaphic factors. We conclude that the AM symbiosis is present in grass and forb roots on Spitsbergen.

A heart that beats for 500 years: age-related changes in cardiac proteasome activity, oxidative protein damage and expression of heat shock proteins, inflammatory factors, and mitochondrial complexes in Arctica islandica, the longest-living noncolonial animal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sosnowska, Danuta; Richardson, Chris; Sonntag, William E; Csiszar, Anna; Ungvari, Zoltan; Ridgway, Iain

2014-12-01

Study of negligibly senescent animals may provide clues that lead to better understanding of the cardiac aging process. To elucidate mechanisms of successful cardiac aging, we investigated age-related changes in proteasome activity, oxidative protein damage and expression of heat shock proteins, inflammatory factors, and mitochondrial complexes in the heart of the ocean quahog Arctica islandica, the longest-lived noncolonial animal (maximum life span potential: 508 years). We found that in the heart of A. islandica the level of oxidatively damaged proteins did not change significantly up to 120 years of age. No significant aging-induced changes were observed in caspase-like and trypsin-like proteasome activity. Chymotrypsin-like proteasome activity showed a significant early-life decline, then it remained stable for up to 182 years. No significant relationship was observed between the extent of protein ubiquitination and age. In the heart of A. islandica, an early-life decline in expression of HSP90 and five mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes was observed. We found significant age-related increases in the expression of three cytokine-like mediators (interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in the heart of A. islandica. Collectively, in extremely long-lived molluscs, maintenance of protein homeostasis likely contributes to the preservation of cardiac function. Our data also support the concept that low-grade chronic inflammation in the cardiovascular system is a universal feature of the aging process, which is also manifest in invertebrates. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

NEFSC 2002 Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Survey (DE0206, EK500)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 2002 region-wide survey for Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) and Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) was conducted in continental shelf waters, from Delmarva...

Phylogenetic analyses of the genus Glaciecola: emended description of the genus Glaciecola, transfer of Glaciecola mesophila, G. agarilytica, G. aquimarina, G. arctica, G. chathamensis, G. polaris and G. psychrophila to the genus Paraglaciecola gen. nov. as Paraglaciecola mesophila comb. nov., P. agarilytica comb. nov., P. aquimarina comb. nov., P. arctica comb. nov., P. chathamensis comb. nov., P. polaris comb. nov. and P. psychrophila comb. nov., and description of Paraglaciecola oceanifecundans sp. nov., isolated from the Southern Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Shivaji, Sisinthy; Reddy, Gundlapally Sathyanarayana

2014-09-01

Phylogenetic analyses of the genus Glaciecola were performed using the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene and the GyrB protein to establish its taxonomic status. The results indicated a consistent clustering of the genus Glaciecola into two clades, with significant bootstrap values, with all the phylogenetic methods employed. Clade 1 was represented by seven species, Glaciecola agarilytica, G. aquimarina, G. arctica, G. chathamensis, G. mesophila, G. polaris and G. psychrophila, while clade 2 consisted of only three species, Glaciecola nitratireducens, G. pallidula and G. punicea. Evolutionary distances between species of clades 1 and 2, based on 16S rRNA gene and GyrB protein sequences, ranged from 93.0 to 95.0 % and 69.0 to 73.0 %, respectively. In addition, clades 1 and 2 possessed 18 unique signature nucleotides, at positions 132, 184 : 193, 185 : 192, 230, 616 : 624, 631, 632, 633, 738, 829, 1257, 1265, 1281, 1356 and 1366, in the 16S rRNA gene sequence and can be differentiated by the occurrence of a 15 nt signature motif 5'-CAAATCAGAATGTTG at positions 1354-1368 in members of clade 2. Robust clustering of the genus Glaciecola into two clades based on analysis of 16S rRNA gene and GyrB protein sequences, 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of ≤95.0 % and the occurrence of signature nucleotides and signature motifs in the 16S rRNA gene suggested that the genus should be split into two genera. The genus Paraglaciecola gen. nov. is therefore created to accommodate the seven species of clade 1, while the name Glaciecola sensu stricto is retained to represent species of clade 2. The species of clade 1 are transferred to the genus Paraglaciecola as Paraglaciecola mesophila comb. nov. (type strain DSM 15026(T) = KMM 241(T)), P. agarilytica comb. nov. (type strain NO2(T) = KCTC 12755(T) = LMG 23762(T)), P. aquimarina comb. nov. (type strain GGW-M5(T) = KCTC 32108(T) = CCUG 62918(T)), P. arctica comb. nov. (type strain BSs20135(T

Transmission electron microscopy of apical cells of Sphacelaria spp. (Sphacelariales, Phaeophyceae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prud’homme van Reine, W.F.; Star, W.

1981-01-01

The ultrastructure of apical cells of six species of Sphacelaria (S. arctica, S. cirrosa, S. nana, S. racemosa, S. radicans, and S. rigidula) is studied here. In most details such as ultrastructure of chloroplasts, mitochondria, microbodies, nuclei and centrioles all Sphacelaria species studied are

Biogenic volatile organic compound emissions along a high arctic soil moisture gradient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Sarah Hagel; Lindwall, Frida; Michelsen, Anders

2016-01-01

emissions of BVOCs were found from vegetation communities dominated by Salix arctica and Cassiope tetragona, which had emission profiles dominated by isoprene and monoterpenes, respectively. These results show that emissions of BVOCs are highly dependent on the plant cover supported by the varying soil...

The marine radiocarbon bomb pulse across the temperate North Atlantic: a compilation of Delta

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scourse, J.D.; Wanamaker jr., A.D.; Weidman, C.; Heinemeier, J.; Reimer, P.J.; Butler, P.G.; Witbaard, R.; Richardson, C.A.

2012-01-01

Marine radiocarbon bomb-pulse time histories of annually resolved archives from temperate regions have been underexploited. We present here series of Delta C-14 excess from known-age annual increments of the long-lived bivalve mollusk Arctica islandica from 4 sites across the coastal North Atlantic

Interactive effects of temperature and food availability on the growth of

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ballesta-Artero, I.; Janssen, R.; Van der Meer, J.; Witbaard, R.

2018-01-01

The interest in Arctica islandica growth biology has recently increased due to the widespread use of its shell as a bioarchive. Although temperature and food availability are considered key factors in its growth, their combined influence has not been studied so far under laboratory conditions. We

The freshwater fern Azolla (Azollaceae) from Eocene Arctic and Nordic Sea sediments: New species and their stratigraphic distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Burgh, J.; Collinson, M.E.; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A.; Barke, J.; Brinkhuis, H.

2013-01-01

Three new species of the freshwater fern Azolla are described from Eocene marine deposits of the Arctic and Nordic seas, bringing the total number of species now documented from these areas to five. Azolla arctica Collinson et al., Azolla jutlandica Collinson et al., Azolla nova sp. nov. and Azolla

Does warming affect growth rate and biomass production of shrubs in the High Arctic?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campioli, Matteo; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Albert, Kristian Rost

2013-01-01

Few studies have assessed directly the impact of warming on plant growth and biomass production in the High Arctic. Here, we aimed to investigate the impact of 7 years of warming (open greenhouses) on the aboveground relative growth rate (RGR) of Cassiope tetragona and Salix arctica in North-East...

Plant Functional Traits Are More Consistent Than Plant Species on Periglacial Patterned Ground in the Rocky Mountains of Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Apple, M. E.; Ricketts, M. K.; Gallagher, J. H. R.

2017-12-01

Periglacial patterned ground exists as stripes and hexagons near glaciers and snowfields, some of which are former glaciers. The patterns are accentuated by profound differences in plant cover between the sloping surfaces, generally perceived as green, and the flat treads, generally perceived as brown but which are not devoid of plant life. On four sites in the Rocky Mountains of Montana we detected strong similarities in plant functional traits on the sloping surfaces of striped and hexagonal periglacial patterned ground. On Mt. Keokirk in the Pioneer Mountains, Kinnickinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, dominates narrow green stripes. On Goat Flat in the Pintler Mountains, Mountain Avens, Dryas octopetala, dominates the side walls of hexagonally patterned ground and narrow green stripes. At Glacier National Park, D. octopetala and the Arctic Willow, Salix arctica, co-dominate the green risers of widely-spaced striped periglacial patterned system at Siyeh Pass, while D. octopetala, S. arctica, and the Mountain Heather, Phyllodoce glanduliflora, co-dominate the green risers of the widely-spaced stripes of Piegan Pass. All four of these dictotyledonous angiosperm species are adventitiously-rooted dwarf shrubs with simple leaves. Of these, P. glanduliflora, A. uva-ursi and D. octopetala are evergreen. D. octopetala is symbiotic with N-fixing Frankia sp. All are mycorrhizal, although D. octopetala and S. arctica are ectomycorrhizal and P. glanduliflora and A. uva-ursi have ericaceous mycorrhizae. In contrast, dwarf shrubs are scarce on flat treads and within hexagons, which are chiefly inhabited by herbaceous, taprooted or rhizomatous, VAM angiosperms. As the green stripes and hexagon walls have greater plant cover, they likely have greater organic material due to leaf buildup and root turnover, anchor themselves and the soil with adventitious roots, their clonality suggests long lives, and N-fixing influences N dynamics of the periglacial patterned ground.

Effect of organic matrices on the determination of the trace element chemistry (Mg, Sr, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) of aragonitic bivalve shells (Arctica islandica). Comparison of ICP-OES and LA-ICP-MS data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoene, Bernd R.; Zhang, Zengjie; Jacob, Dorrit; Soldate, Analia; Gillikin, David P.; Tuetken, Thomas; Garbe-Shoenberg, Dieter; McConnaughey, Ted

2010-01-01

The element chemistry of biogenic carbonates can provide important data on past environments. However, the Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios as well as the Mg and Sr concentrations of biological carbonates, especially aragonitic bivalves often depart from apparent thermodynamic equilibrium. When measured in situ by means of LA-ICP-MS, the Mg concentration is often substantially enriched (two- to threefold) near the organic-rich, annual growth lines. To test the hypothesis that some organic components exert a major influence on the skeletal metal content, the element chemistry of different shell components (insoluble organic matrix, IOM; dissolved CaCO 3 and soluble organics, SOM) of Arctica islandica was measured by means of ICP-OES and LA-ICP-MS. The ICP-OES data indicate that the IOM is strongly enriched in Mg (130 ppm) and depleted in Sr and Ca (10 ppm and 0.22 wt%, respectively) when compared to the whole biomineral (Mg: 68 to 99 ppm, Sr: 860 to 1,060 ppm, Ca: ∼35.72 wt%). Although the average relative abundance of the IOM barely exceeds 0.46 wt%, its chemical composition in combination with its heterogeneous distribution across the shell can significantly increase estimates of the Mg concentration if measured in situ by LA-ICP-MS. Depending on the distribution of the IOM, the Ca concentration may be significantly lower locally than the average Ca concentration of the whole shell (35.72 wt%). If this remains undetected, the Mg concentration of shell portions with higher than average IOM content is overestimated by LA-ICP-MS and, conversely, the Mg concentration is underestimated in shell portions with lower than average IOM content. Removal of the IOM prior to the chemical analysis by LA-ICP-MS or mathematical correction for the IOM-derived magnesium concentrations is therefore strongly advised. The different chemistry of the IOM may also exert a major control on the trace element to calcium ratios. Shell portions enriched in IOM will show up to 200 times higher Mg

Muestreo poblacional de Onychiurus armatus tullberg (Collembola: Onychiuridae en cultivos de clavel y crisantemo bajo invernadero Population sampllng of Oníehíurus armatus Tullberg (Collembola: onychiurioae within carnation and Crysanthemum crops in greenhouses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roatta Jorge

1989-12-01

Full Text Available Durante el año 1984 se estudió la distribución poblacional de artrópodos en suelos de cultivos de clavel y crisantemo,
cultivados bajo un invernadero comercial ubicado en la zona de Madrid, Cundinamarca. Se encontró una baja diversidad de artrópodos con dominancia de Onychíurus armatus Tullberq, el cual prefiere desarrollarse en la zona de rizósfera, de O a 20 cm de profundidad, aunque puede encontrarse a mayor profundidad. Se confirma que este colémbolo hace daño en las raíces de las plantas: afectando la altura y el peso de las plantas de crisantemo y disminuyendo la cantidad de esquejes producidos por plantas de clavel. La gravedad del daño depende
de la densidad de colémbolos presentes.This study was done during 1984 in a commercial crops at the Bogotá Plateau. Low numbers of arthropods were found in
the samplings. o. arma tus was the most abundant arthropod, located around the root area of carnation and chrysantemum
plants, and usually between O and 20 cm in the soil. This species was shown to be a pest on carnation and chrysantemum roots, decreasing height and weight of chrysantemum plants and decreasing the number of cuttings produced by carnation plants. The amount of damage is determined by the number of individuals present in the population.

Pseudo-proxy evaluation of climate field reconstruction methods of North Atlantic climate based on an annually resolved marine proxy network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Pyrina

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Two statistical methods are tested to reconstruct the interannual variations in past sea surface temperatures (SSTs of the North Atlantic (NA Ocean over the past millennium based on annually resolved and absolutely dated marine proxy records of the bivalve mollusk Arctica islandica. The methods are tested in a pseudo-proxy experiment (PPE setup using state-of-the-art climate models (CMIP5 Earth system models and reanalysis data from the COBE2 SST data set. The methods were applied in the virtual reality provided by global climate simulations and reanalysis data to reconstruct the past NA SSTs using pseudo-proxy records that mimic the statistical characteristics and network of Arctica islandica. The multivariate linear regression methods evaluated here are principal component regression and canonical correlation analysis. Differences in the skill of the climate field reconstruction (CFR are assessed according to different calibration periods and different proxy locations within the NA basin. The choice of the climate model used as a surrogate reality in the PPE has a more profound effect on the CFR skill than the calibration period and the statistical reconstruction method. The differences between the two methods are clearer for the MPI-ESM model due to its higher spatial resolution in the NA basin. The pseudo-proxy results of the CCSM4 model are closer to the pseudo-proxy results based on the reanalysis data set COBE2. Conducting PPEs using noise-contaminated pseudo-proxies instead of noise-free pseudo-proxies is important for the evaluation of the methods, as more spatial differences in the reconstruction skill are revealed. Both methods are appropriate for the reconstruction of the temporal evolution of the NA SSTs, even though they lead to a great loss of variance away from the proxy sites. Under reasonable assumptions about the characteristics of the non-climate noise in the proxy records, our results show that the marine network of Arctica

Improved UV-B screening capacity does not prevent negative effects of ambient UV irradiance on PSII performance in High Arctic plants. Results from a six year UV exclusion study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albert, Kristian Rost; Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard; Ro-Poulsen, H.

2010-01-01

Long-term responses of ambient solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation were investigated on Salix arctica and Vaccinium uliginosum in a High Arctic heath ecosystem in Zackenberg, northeast Greenland. Over a period of six years, UV exclusion was conducted in the growing season by means of filters: 60% UV......, exposing the vegetation to high spring UV-B, and to be present in the future to the degree the ozone layer is not fully recovered....

Inquiry Coaching: Scientists & Science Educators Energizing the Next Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Shope, R. E.; Alcantara Valverde, L.

2007-05-01

A recent National Academy of Sciences report recommends that science educators focus strategically on teaching the practice of science. To accomplish this, we have devised and implemented the Science Performance Laboratory, a collaborative research, education, and workforce model that brings scientists and science educators together to conduct scientific inquiry. In this session, we demonstrate how to form active inquiry teams around Arctica Science Research content areas related to the International Polar Year. We use the term "Arctica Science Research" to refer to the entire scope of exploration and discovery relating to: polar science and its global connections; Arctic and Antarctic research and climate sciences; ice and cryospheric studies on Earth; polar regions of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury; icy worlds throughout the Solar System, such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Pluto and the Comets; cryovolcanism; ice in interstellar space, and beyond. We apply the notion of teaching the practice science by enacting three effective strategies: 1) The Inquiry Wheel Game, in which we develop an expanded understanding of what has been traditionally taught as "the scientific method"; 2) Acting Out the Science Story, in which we develop a physicalized expression of our conceptual understanding; and 3) Selecting Success Criteria for Inquiry Coaching, in which we reframe how we evaluate science learning as we teach the practice of science.

NQRY Coaching: Scientists and Science Educators Energizing the Next Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Shope, R. E.

2007-12-01

A recent National Academy of Science report recommends that science educators focus strategically on teaching the practice of science. To accomplish this, we have devised and implemented the Science Performance Collaboratory, a collaborative research, education, and workforce model that brings scientists and science educators together to conduct scientific inquiry. In this session, we demonstrate how to form active inquiry teams around Arctica Science Research content areas related to the International Polar Year. We use the term Arctica Science Research to refer to the entire scope of exploration and discovery relating to: polar science and its global connections; Arctic and Antarctic research and climate sciences; ice and cryospheric studies on Earth; polar regions of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury; icy worlds throughout the Solar System, such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Pluto and the Comets; cryovolvanism; ice in interstellar space, and beyond. We apply the notion of teaching the practice science by enacting three effective strategies: 1) The Inquiry Wheel Game, in which we develop an expanded understanding of what has been traditionally taught as "the scientific method"; 2) Acting Out the Science Story, in which we develop a physicalized expression of our conceptual understanding; and 3) Selecting Success Criteria for Inquiry Coaching, in which we reframe how we evaluate science learning as we teach the practice of science.

Investigation of trophic ecology in Newfoundland cold-water deep-sea corals using lipid class and fatty acid analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Salvo, Flora; Hamoutene, Dounia; Hayes, Vonda E. Wareham; Edinger, Evan N.; Parrish, Christopher C.

2018-03-01

The trophic behavior of some deep-sea Newfoundland cold-water corals was explored using fatty acid (FA) and lipid profiles. No significant effect of geographic location and/or depth was identified in lipid or FA composition. However, differences were detected between and within taxon groups in hexa- or octocoral subclasses. Phospholipids constituted the main lipid class in all groups except black-thorny corals which had less structural lipids likely due to their morphology (stiff axes) and slower growth rates. Within each subclass, major differences in the identity of dominant FAs were detected at the order level, whereas differences between species and taxon groups of the same order were mainly driven by a variation in proportions of the dominant FA. Soft corals and gorgonians (Order Alcyonacea) were close in composition and are likely relying on phytodetritus resulting from algae, macrophytes and/or foraminifera, while sea pens (Order Pennatulacea) seem to consume more diatoms and/or herbivorous zooplankton with the exception of Pennatula sp. In the hexacoral subclass, black-thorny corals ( Stauropathes arctica) differed significantly from the stony-cup corals ( Flabellum alabastrum); S. arctica was seemingly more carnivorous (zooplankton markers) than F. alabastrum, which appears omnivorous (phyto- and zooplankton markers). Our results suggest that deep-sea corals are not as opportunistic as expected but have some selective feeding associated with taxonomy.

Birds from the Old East Slavic settlement Stadnyky 11th century

OpenAIRE

Gorobets, L. V.; Bondarchuk, O. A.; Zarutska, V. V.; Горобець, Л. В.; Бондарчук, О. А.; Заруцька, В. В.

2014-01-01

The work presents the results of the analysis of a species diversity of the Old East Slavic settlement Stadnyky. The majority of hunted birds belong to the group Anseriformes (at least 45 % of the minimum possible number of individuals). Among other groups, Black Grouse is the dominant (8,33 %). Among the remains found there one can name some rare types of the West Polessye: Gavia arctica, Aythya nyroca. We have drawn the conclusions about the significant role of autumn hunting of...

Pathological features in marine birds affected by the prestige's oil spill in the north of Spain

OpenAIRE

Balseiro, Ana; Espí, Alberto; Márquez, I.; Pérez, V.; Ferreras, M.C. (M.); García, J.F. (J.); Prieto, J.M. (José)

2012-01-01

A total of 2,465 seabirds, mainly common murres (Uria aalge), razorbills (Alca torda), and puffins (Fratercula arctica) that beached in the northwestern part of Spain after the "Prestige" oil spill on 19 November 2002 were examined by pathological methods. Birds were divided into three groups: dead birds with the body covered (group 1) or uncovered (group 2) by oil and birds recovered alive but which died after being treated at a rescue center (group 3). The main gross lesions were severe deh...

Identification and expression of the tig gene coding for trigger factor from psychrophilic bacteria with no information of genome sequence available.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyunghee; Choi, Hyojung; Im, Hana

2009-08-01

Trigger factor (TF) plays a key role as a molecular chaperone with a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity by which cells promote folding of newly synthesized proteins coming out of ribosomes. Since psychrophilic bacteria grow at a quite low temperature, between 4 and 15 degrees C, TF from such bacteria was investigated and compared with that of mesophilic bacteria E. coli in order to offer an explanation of cold-adaptation at a molecular level. Using a combination of gradient PCRs with homologous primers and LA PCR in vitro cloning technology, the tig gene was fully identified from Psychromonas arctica, whose genome sequence is not yet available. The resulting amino acid sequence of the TF was compared with other homologous TFs using sequence alignments to search for common domains. In addition, we have developed a protein expression system, by which TF proteins from P. arctica (PaTF) were produced by IPTG induction upon cloning the tig gene on expression vectors, such as pAED4. We have further examined the role of expressed psychrophilic PaTF on survival against cold treatment at 4 degrees C. Finally, we have attempted the in vitro biochemical characterization of TF proteins with His-tags expressed in a pET system, such as the PPIase activity of PaTF protein. Our results demonstrate that the expressed PaTF proteins helped cells survive against cold environments in vivo and the purified PaTF in vitro display the functional PPIase activity in a concentration dependent manner.

A summary of alcid records from Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Clapp, R.B.

1986-01-01

Abstract.-Four species of alcids have now been recorded frorn Hawaii. Two of them, the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata and the Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramchus aleuticus) have been found only once; the occurrence of the latter is reported here for the first time. two other alcids, the Horned Puffin (Fratercula arctica) and the Parakeet .Auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) have been recorded frorn Hawaii in greater numbers; the latter may be of regular occurrence in subtropical waters near the northwestern portion of the Hawaiian archipelago. Occurrence in Hawaii does not appear to be strongly related to size of populations to the north but instead to the extent to which the species are known to disperse.

The reindeer abomasal nematode (Ostertagia gruehneri) is naturally transmitted to sheep when sharing pastures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manninen, Saana-Maaria; Thamsborg, Stig Milan; Laaksonen, Sauli

2014-01-01

The increasing number of sheep (Ovis aries) in northern Finland, often alternately corralled with winter-fed reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), creates potential for cross-infection of gastrointestinal nematodes. The aim of this study was to elucidate this possibility with 43 animals. Eleven...... reindeer and 8 sheep had shared a corral by turns, reindeer during winters, and sheep in summers. Another 12 reindeer had no known contact with sheep. Twelve sheep had no close contact to other ruminants. Both reindeer groups were free-ranging during summers. During slaughter in September to November, 2003......, abomasa and parts of intestines were collected. Gastrointestinal nematodes were counted and identified. The species found were the following: in reindeer, Ostertagia gruehneri/Ostertagia arctica, Mazamastrongylus dagestanica, Nematodirus tarandi, Nematodirella longissimespiculata and Bunostomum...

High-Arctic Plant-Herbivore Interactions under Climate Influence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Thomas B.; Schmidt, Niels M.; Høye, Toke Thomas

This chapter focuses on a 10-year data series from Zackenberg on the trophic interactions between two characteristic arctic plant species, arctic willow Salix arctica and mountain avens Dryas octopetala, and three herbivore species covering the very scale of size present at Zackenberg, namely......, the moth Sympistis zetterstedtii, the collared lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and the musk ox Ovibos moschatus. Data from Zackenberg show that timing of snowmelt, the length of the growing season and summer temperature are the basic variables that determine the phenology of flowering and primary...... production upon which the herbivores depend, and snow may be the most important climatic factor affecting the different trophic levels and the interactions between them. Hence, the spatio-temporal distribution of snow, as well as thawing events during winter, may have considerable effects on the herbivores...

Sea-ice induced growth decline in Arctic shrubs.

Science.gov (United States)

Forchhammer, Mads

2017-08-01

Measures of increased tundra plant productivity have been associated with the accelerating retreat of the Arctic sea-ice. Emerging studies document opposite effects, advocating for a more complex relationship between the shrinking sea-ice and terrestrial plant productivity. I introduce an autoregressive plant growth model integrating effects of biological and climatic conditions for analysing individual ring-width growth time series. Using 128 specimens of Salix arctica , S. glauca and Betula nana sampled across Greenland to Svalbard, an overall negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice extent was found on the annual growth. The negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice was observed for younger individuals with large annual growth allocations and with little or no trade-off between previous and current year's growth. © 2017 The Author(s).

Radiocaesium and plutonium in Atlantic surface waters from 73oN to 72oS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, E.; Roos, P.; Persson, R.B.R.; Livingston, H.D.

1991-01-01

During the recent Swedish Antartic research Expedition (SWEDARP 89/89) samples of surface sea water were collected on board the Stena Arctica between Gothenburgh, Sweden and the Antarctic Peninsula. Radio chemical separation was performed for radiocaesium on 200 1 samples and for plutonium on samples between 200 and 1500 1. The results are compared with those of the GEOSECS expedition in the North and South Atlantic in 1972-73 and the Polish expedition in 1977-78. They show that radiocaesium has behaved rather conservatively and that the decrease in surface water concentrations during 16 years is due to physical decay. On the other hand levels of 239+240 Pu have decreased by a factor of 4-5 giving a half life of 7-8 years in open Atlantic surface waters. (Author)

Trends of some wintering waterbirds in Lazio (1993-2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Brunelli

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Since the 90s, censuses of wintering waterfowl have been carried out in the main wetlands of Lazio. We analysed the trends of 31 species in the 1993-2006 period (base year 1993 by means of TRIM (Trends and Indices Monitoring data software (Model 3. Among the species regularly recorded in the region, Ardea alba, Ardea cinerea, Bubulcus ibis and Anser anser showed a strong increase; Podiceps cristatus, Nycticorax nycticorax, Egretta garzetta, Phoenicopterus ruber, Anas penelope, Anas strepera, Anas crecca, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas clypeata, Netta rufina, Aythya ferina, Aythya nyroca, Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Pluvialis apricaria and Vanellus vanellus showed a moderate increase; Gavia arctica, Tachybaptus ruficollis, Podiceps nigricollis, Phalacrocorax carbo, Aythya fuligula and Numenius arquata resulted “stable”; Botaurus stellaris, Tadorna tadorna, Anas acuta, Pluvialis squatarola and Calidris alpina showed an uncertain trend. The trends for most species are similar to those recorded at a national level.

The fate of 13C15N labelled glycine in permafrost and surface soil at simulated thaw in mesocosms from high arctic and subarctic ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Nynne Marie Rand; Elberling, Bo; Michelsen, Anders

2017-01-01

Background and aim: Nutrient distribution and carbon fluxes upon spring thaw are compared in mesocosms from high arctic and subarctic ecosystems dominated by Cassiope tetragona or Salix hastata/Salix arctica, in order to evaluate the possibility of plant and microbial utilization of an organic...... compound in thawing permafrost and surface soil. Methods: Double labeled glycine (13C15N) was added to soil columns with vegetation and to permafrost. During thaw conditions ecosystem respiration 13C was measured and 13C and 15N distribution in the ecosystem pools was quantified one day and one month after...... glycine addition. Results: Near-surface soil microbes were more efficient in the uptake of intact glycine immediately upon thaw than plants. After one month plants had gained more 15N whereas microbes seemed to lose 15N originating from glycine. We observed a time lag in glycine degradation upon...

Palaeoecology of Holocene peat deposits from Nordvestø, north-west Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennike, Ole; Goodsite, Michael Evan; Heinemeier, Jan

2008-01-01

Two extensive peat deposits on Nordvestø, between Greenland and Canada, were examined for macroscopic remains of plants and animals. One of the peat deposits accumulated during the period from c. 7,100 to 5,100 cal. years BP. This peat is guanogenic and completely dominated by the coprophilous...... bryophyte Aplodon wormskioldii, and also contains frequent remains of feathers. The peat formed close to a large former sea bird colony, probably a puffin (Fratercula arctica) colony. Puffins are now rare in the region, but the population may have been larger during the mid Holocene, when the sea was ice......-free for a longer period than at present. The other peat deposit is dated to c. 9,300-7,400 cal. years BP, it is minerogenic and the macrofossils reflect deposition in a shallow, richly vegetated pond. This peat formed during warmer summers than at present....

Fluctuations of the Vestfonna ice margin at Brageneset, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, after the last glacial maximum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donner, J.J.

1995-06-01

Full Text Available Four radiocarbon datings of shells of Mya truncata and Saxicava arctica from the till of the end-moraine of the advance of Vestfonna against Brageneset, Nordaustlandet, between AD 1861 and 1899, gave ages between 8300 BP and 8700 BP. These are from the time when the ice margin had retreated from Brageneset after the last glaciation. An additional age of 7900 BP obtained for Astarteelliptica, also from the end-moraine, shows that the shells in the till represent a mixed death assemblage, as also shown by the composition of the molluscan fauna in general. By comparing the altitudes of the two pumice levels with their altitudes in other areas of Svalbard a curve for the relative uplift of Brageneset could be constructed. According to this curve the highest point of Brageneset at 46.5 m emerged at about 9200 BP, which gives a minimum age for the general deglaciation, an age in agreement with dates obtained from other parts of Nordaustlandet.

Levels and temporal trends (1983-2003) of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg) in seabird eggs from Northern Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helgason, Lisa B.; Barrett, Rob; Lie, Elisabeth; Polder, Anuschka; Skaare, Janneche U.; Gabrielsen, Geir W.

2008-01-01

The main objective of this study was to investigate possible temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in eggs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), common guillemots (Uria aalge) and Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) in Northern Norway. Eggs were collected in 1983, 1993 and 2003. Egg concentrations of POPs (PCB congeners IUPAC numbers: CB-28, 74, 66, 101, 99, 110, 149, 118, 153, 105, 141, 138, 187, 128, 156, 157, 180, 170, 194, 206, HCB, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, oxychlordane, trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, trans-nonachlor, cis-nonachlor, p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDD, o,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDT) and mercury were quantified. Generally, POP levels decreased between 1983 and 2003 in all species. No significant temporal trend in mercury levels was found between 1983 and 2003. - POP levels decreased between 1983 and 2003 in seabird eggs from Northern Norway

Sarcocystis arctica (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae): ultrastructural description and its new host record, the Alaskan wolf (Canis lupus

Science.gov (United States)

Sarcocystis sarcocysts are common in muscles of herbivores but are rare in muscles of carnivores. Here, we report sarcocysts in muscle of an Alaskan wolf (Canis lupus) from Alaska, USA for the first time. Sarcocysts extracted from tongue of the wolf were up to 900 µm long, slender, and appeared to h...

Vermistella arctica n. sp. Nominates the Genus Vermistella as a Candidate for Taxon with Bipolar Distribution

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tyml, Tomáš; Kostka, Martin; Ditrich, O.; Dyková, I.

2016-01-01

Roč. 63, č. 2 (2016), s. 210-219 ISSN 1066-5234 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP505/12/G112 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : actin * biogeography * bipolar distribution * free-living amoebae * phylogeny * polar regions * SSU Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.692, year: 2016

The Arctic--A Global Hot Spot: Resources for Teaching the Geography of the Contemporary Canadian Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Arntzen, Betsy; Sotherden, Amy

2011-01-01

Canadian geography is a fascinating topic, particularly the Canadian North. The North is central to Canadian identity as can be seen by the choice of the far north "inukshuk" standing stones as the emblem for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, southern British Columbia. Canada's Arctic is receiving increasing attention by media,…

Acute fatal sarcocystosis hepatitis in an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Calero-Bernal, R; Mauroo, N F; Hui, S W; Kuiken, T; van de Bildt, M W G; de Jong, A W; Osterhaus, A D M E; Sims, L; Gendron-Fitzpatrick, A; Carmena, D; Cerqueira-Cézar, C K; Rosenthal, B M; Dubey, J P

2017-02-15

Unlike most species in the genus Sarcocystis, Sarcocystis canis has a broad intermediate host range. Its life cycle is incompletely known and most reports are from the USA. Here we report fatal hepatitis in a 4year old male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) from Hong Kong associated with a S. canis-like infection. Diagnosis was made based on clinical presentation, histopathology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and molecular characterization. Microscopically, S. canis-like like infection was confined to the liver. Immature and mature schizonts were found in hepatocytes and the parasite was associated with generalized hepatic necrosis. By TEM, schizonts divided by endopolygeny, and merozoites lacked rhoptries. Molecular characterization of parasites present in liver and brain tissues at the cox1 gene showed a high degree of identity (97-98%) and clustered together with Sarcocystis canis, S. lutrae, S. arctica, S. speeri, S. turdusi, and S. rileyi in a phylogenetic study. This is the first report of S. canis-like infection from Asia. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kempen, Monique M L; Smolders, Alfons J P; Lamers, Leon P M; Roelofs, Jan G M

2012-01-01

In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval.

Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monique M L van Kempen

Full Text Available In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval.

Biological-Physical Interactions on Georges Bank: Plankton Transport and Population Dynamics of the Ocean Quahog, Arctica islandica

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1997-01-01

.... These alterations in bank trophic structure may reduce recruitment of higher trophic levels. NPZ and copepod stage structure models embedded in stratified flow over an idealized bank indicate that strong storms...

Effects of reducing the ambient UV-B radiation in the high Arctic on Salix arctica and Vaccinium uliginosum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albert, K.R.; Ro-Poulsen, H.; Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard

2005-01-01

, transmitting λ > 400 nm) were used to reduce UV-B radiation and UV-B+A respectively. A UV transparent film (Teflon, transmitting λ > 280 nm) and no film were used as controls. Field measurements showed that the plants under Teflon, Mylar and Lexan received app. 91%, 39% and 17% of the ambient UV-B irradiance...

North Atlantic Oscillation dynamics recorded in shells of a long-lived bivalve mollusk

Science.gov (United States)

Schöne, Bernd R.; Oschmann, Wolfgang; Rössler, Jochen; Freyre Castro, Antuané D.; Houk, Stephen D.; Kröncke, Ingrid; Dreyer, Wolfgang; Janssen, Ronald; Rumohr, Heye; Dunca, Elena

2003-12-01

Existing reconstructions of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (WNAO) are based on terrestrial proxies and historical documents. No direct high-resolution, long-term rec ords from marine settings are available for this major climate-dictating phenomenon, which severely affects a variety of economic aspects of our society. Here we present a 245 yr proxy WNAO index based on shells of the long-lived marine bivalve mollusk Arctica islandica. Variations in annual rates of shell growth are positively correlated with WNAO-related changes in the food supply. Maximum amplitudes in frequency bands of 7 9 and 5 7 yr fall exactly within the range of instrumental and other proxy WNAO indices. These estimates were obtained for specimens collected live, 2000 km apart, in the central North Sea and on the Norwegian Shelf. Hence, the WNAO influences hydrographic regimes of large regions of the ocean. Our study demonstrates that A. islandica can reliably reconstruct WNAO dynamics for time intervals and regions without instrumental records. Our new tool functions as a proxy for the WNAO index prior to the twentieth-century greenhouse forcing and has the potential to further validate other proxy-based WNAO records.

Diversity and abundance of water birds in a subarctic lake during three decades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders Klemetsen

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The numbers of divers, ducks, gulls, terns and waders in the 15 km2 oligotrophic lake Takvatn, North Norway were estimated six times during 1983-2012. Systematic mapping surveys were done by boat within the first week after ice-break in June. Twenty-one species were observed over the years and 12 were regarded as breeding on the lake. Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator was the dominant diving bird, with estimated minimum number of pairs varying from 15 to 39 among years. Black-throated diver Gavia arctica (1-3 pairs, tufted duck Aythya fuligula (2-15 pairs and common scoter Melanitta nigra (1-5 pairs bred regularly, while velvet scoter Melanitta fusca (1-2 and goldeneye Bucephala clangula (2-4 were found in some years and mallard Anas platyrhynchos (1 pair and wigeon Anas penelope (1 pair in one year. Common gull Larus canus (6-30 pairs and arctic tern Sterna paradisaea (2-35 pairs bred in all years. Common sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos (3-9 pairs and redshank Tringa totanus (1-4 pairs were regular waders. Density variations of mergansers, gulls and terns are possibly related to density variations of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, their dominant fish prey. The water birds are important links in the food web of the lake.

Exopolymer alteration of physical properties of sea ice and implications for ice habitability and biogeochemistry in a warmer Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Krembs, Christopher; Eicken, Hajo; Deming, Jody W

2011-03-01

The physical properties of Arctic sea ice determine its habitability. Whether ice-dwelling organisms can change those properties has rarely been addressed. Following discovery that sea ice contains an abundance of gelatinous extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), we examined the effects of algal EPS on the microstructure and salt retention of ice grown from saline solutions containing EPS from a culture of the sea-ice diatom, Melosira arctica. We also experimented with xanthan gum and with EPS from a culture of the cold-adapted bacterium Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H. Quantitative microscopic analyses of the artificial ice containing Melosira EPS revealed convoluted ice-pore morphologies of high fractal dimension, mimicking features found in EPS-rich coastal sea ice, whereas EPS-free (control) ice featured much simpler pore geometries. A heat-sensitive glycoprotein fraction of Melosira EPS accounted for complex pore morphologies. Although all tested forms of EPS increased bulk ice salinity (by 11-59%) above the controls, ice containing native Melosira EPS retained the most salt. EPS effects on ice and pore microstructure improve sea ice habitability, survivability, and potential for increased primary productivity, even as they may alter the persistence and biogeochemical imprint of sea ice on the surface ocean in a warming climate.

Persistent organic pollutants in four bivalve species from Svalbard waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieweg, Ireen; Hop, Haakon; Brey, Thomas; Huber, Sandra; Ambrose, William G.; Locke V, William L.; Gabrielsen, Geir W.

2012-01-01

Organochlorine compounds (OC) were determined in Arctic bivalves (Mya truncata, Serripes groenlandicus, Hiatella arctica and Chlamys islandica) from Svalbard with regard to differences in geographic location, species and variations related to their size and age. Higher chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB 101–PCB 194), chlordanes and α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH) were consistently detected in the bivalves and PCBs dominated the OC load in the organisms. OC concentrations were highest in Mya truncata and the lowest in Serripes groenlandicus. Species-specific OC levels were likely related to differences in the species’ food source, as indicated by the δ 13 C results, rather than size and age. Higher OC concentrations were observed in bivalves from Kongsfjorden compared to the northern sampling locations Liefdefjorden and Sjuøyane. The spatial differences might be related to different water masses influencing Kongsfjorden (Atlantic) and the northern locations (Arctic), with differing phytoplankton bloom situations. - Highlights: ► Organochlorine compounds (OC) were analyzed in 4 bivalve species from Svalbard. ► Polychlorinated biphenyls dominated the OC load observed in the bivalves. ► Atlantic water influenced bivalves had higher OC levels than those from Arctic water. ► Location and species, rather than size and age, determined the OC pattern found. - New findings of organochlorines in Arctic bivalves that are central for evaluating the importance of geographical location and species for the organochlorine pattern in benthic organisms.

Potential and limitation of combining terrestrial and marine growth records from Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Piermattei, A.; Urbinati, C.; Tonelli, E.; Eggertsson, Ó.; Levanič, T.; Kaczka, R. J.; Andrew, C.; Schöne, B. R.; Büntgen, U.

2017-08-01

Seasonally formed, perennial growth increments of various organisms may possibly contain information about past environmental changes, well before instrumental measurements occurred. Such annually resolved proxy records have been mainly obtained from terrestrial archives, with a paucity of similar data originating from marine habitats. Iceland represents ideal conditions to develop both, tree ring (dendro) and bivalve shell (sclero) chronologies from adjacent sites. Here we introduce the first network of Icelandic birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) dendrochronologies, as well as ocean quahog (Arctica islandica L.) sclerochronologies. In order to identify the dominant external drivers of tree and shell growth, we assess the common growth trends and growth extremes within and between the terrestrial and marine records, as well as relationships of both archives with instrumental-based meteorological indices. Capturing a strong signal of June-August mean air temperature, the dendrochronologies are significantly positively correlated to each other. The sclerochronologies, however, reveal much lower growth coherency, which likely results from different sampling strategies and growth habitats. Disagreement between the dendro- and sclerochronologies possibly originates from unequal sample size, offset in the seasonal timing and rate of the growth, as well as varying sensitivities to different environmental factors. Our results emphasize the importance of considering a wide range of species and taxa to reconstruct a more complete picture of terrestrial and marine ecosystem functioning and productivity across various spatiotemporal scales.

Solar PAR and UVR modify the community composition and photosynthetic activity of sea ice algae.

Science.gov (United States)

Enberg, Sara; Piiparinen, Jonna; Majaneva, Markus; Vähätalo, Anssi V; Autio, Riitta; Rintala, Janne-Markus

2015-10-01

The effects of increased photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on species diversity, biomass and photosynthetic activity were studied in fast ice algal communities. The experimental set-up consisted of nine 1.44 m(2) squares with three treatments: untreated with natural snow cover (UNT), snow-free (PAR + UVR) and snow-free ice covered with a UV screen (PAR). The total algal biomass, dominated by diatoms and dinoflagellates, increased in all treatments during the experiment. However, the smaller biomass growth in the top 10-cm layer of the PAR + UVR treatment compared with the PAR treatment indicated the negative effect of UVR. Scrippsiella complex (mainly Scrippsiella hangoei, Biecheleria baltica and Gymnodinium corollarium) showed UV sensitivity in the top 5-cm layer, whereas Heterocapsa arctica ssp. frigida and green algae showed sensitivity to both PAR and UVR. The photosynthetic activity was highest in the top 5-cm layer of the PAR treatment, where the biomass of the pennate diatom Nitzschia frigida increased, indicating the UV sensitivity of this species. This study shows that UVR is one of the controlling factors of algal communities in Baltic Sea ice, and that increased availability of PAR together with UVR exclusion can cause changes in algal biomass, photosynthetic activity and community composition. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Low Density of Top Predators (Seabirds and Marine Mammals in the High Arctic Pack Ice

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Claude R. Joiris

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The at-sea distribution of top predators, seabirds and marine mammals, was determined in the high Arctic pack ice on board the icebreaker RV Polarstern in July to September 2014. In total, 1,620 transect counts were realised, lasting 30 min each. The five most numerous seabird species represented 74% of the total of 15,150 individuals registered: kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, puffin Fratercula arctica, Ross’s gull Rhodostethia rosea, and little auk Alle alle. Eight cetacean species were tallied for a total of 330 individuals, mainly white-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris and fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. Five pinniped species were represented by a total of 55 individuals and the polar bear Ursus maritimus was represented by 12 individuals. Four main geographical zones were identified: from Tromsø to the outer marginal ice zone (OMIZ, the Arctic pack ice (close pack ice, CPI, the end of Lomonosov Ridge off Siberia, and the route off Siberia and northern Norway. Important differences were detected between zones, both in species composition and in individual abundance. Low numbers of species and high proportion of individuals for some of them can be considered to reflect very low biodiversity. Numbers encountered in zones 2 to 4 were very low in comparison with other European Arctic seas. The observed differences showed strong patterns.

Characterisation of a New Family of Carboxyl Esterases with an OsmC Domain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mai-Britt V Jensen

Full Text Available Proteins in the serine esterase family are widely distributed in bacterial phyla and display activity against a range of biologically produced and chemically synthesized esters. A serine esterase from the psychrophilic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas arctica with a C-terminal OsmC-like domain was recently characterized; here we report on the identification and characterization of further putative esterases with OsmC-like domains constituting a new esterase family that is found in a variety of bacterial species from different environmental niches. All of these proteins contained the Ser-Asp-His motif common to serine esterases and a highly conserved pentapeptide nucleophilic elbow motif. We produced these proteins heterologously in Escherichia coli and demonstrated their activity against a range of esterase substrates. Two of the esterases characterized have activity of over two orders of magnitude higher than other members of the family, and are active over a wide temperature range. We determined the crystal structure of the esterase domain of the protein from Rhodothermus marinus and show that it conforms to the classical α/β hydrolase fold with an extended 'lid' region, which occludes the active site of the protein in the crystal. The expansion of characterized members of the esterase family and demonstration of activity over a wide-range of temperatures could be of use in biotechnological applications such as the pharmaceutical, detergent, bioremediation and dairy industries.

Biogenic volatile organic compound emissions along a high arctic soil moisture gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Svendsen, Sarah Hagel; Lindwall, Frida; Michelsen, Anders; Rinnan, Riikka

2016-12-15

Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from terrestrial ecosystems are important for the atmospheric chemistry and the formation of secondary organic aerosols, and may therefore influence the climate. Global warming is predicted to change patterns in precipitation and plant species compositions, especially in arctic regions where the temperature increase will be most pronounced. These changes are potentially highly important for the BVOC emissions but studies investigating the effects are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality and quantity of BVOC emissions from a high arctic soil moisture gradient extending from dry tundra to a wet fen. Ecosystem BVOC emissions were sampled five times in the July-August period using a push-pull enclosure technique, and BVOCs trapped in absorbent cartridges were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Plant species compositions were estimated using the point intercept method. In order to take into account important underlying ecosystem processes, gross ecosystem production, ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem production were measured in connection with chamber-based BVOC measurements. Highest emissions of BVOCs were found from vegetation communities dominated by Salix arctica and Cassiope tetragona, which had emission profiles dominated by isoprene and monoterpenes, respectively. These results show that emissions of BVOCs are highly dependent on the plant cover supported by the varying soil moisture, suggesting that high arctic BVOC emissions may affect the climate differently if soil water content and plant cover change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A direct estimate of poleward volume, heat, and freshwater fluxes at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland

Science.gov (United States)

Rossby, T.; Reverdin, Gilles; Chafik, Leon; Søiland, Henrik

2017-07-01

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the North Atlantic plays a major role in the transport of heat from low to high latitudes. In this study, we combine recent measurements of currents from the surface to >700 m from a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler with Argo profiles (to 2000 m) to estimate poleward volume, heat, and freshwater flux at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland. This is made possible thanks to the vessel Nuka Arctica that operates on a 3 week schedule between Greenland and Denmark. For the period late 2012 to early 2016, the deseasoned mean meridional overturning circulation reaches a 18.4 ± 3.4 Sv maximum at the σθ = 27.55 kg m-3 isopycnal, which varies in depth from near the surface in the western Irminger Sea to 1000 m in Rockall Trough. The total heat and freshwater fluxes across 59.5°N = 399 ± 74 TW and -0.20 ± 0.04 Sv, where the uncertainties are principally due to that of the MOC. Analysis of altimetric sea surface height variations along exactly the same route reveals a somewhat stronger geostrophic flow north during this period compared to the 23 year mean suggesting that for a long-term mean the above flux estimates should be reduced slightly to 17.4 Sv, 377 TW, and -0.19 Sv, respectively, with the same estimate uncertainties. The ADCP program is ongoing.

Holocene stratigraphy and vegetation history in the Scoresby Sund area, East Greenland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funder, S.

1978-01-01

The Holocene stratigraphy in Scoresby Sund is based on climatic change reflected by fluctuations in fjord and valley glaciers, immigration and extinction of marine molluscs, and the vegetation history recorded in pollen diagrams from five lakes. The histories are dated by C-14, and indirectly by emergence curves showing the patterns of isostatic uplift. From c. 10100-10400 to 9400 yr BP the major fjord glaciers showed oscillatory retreat with abundant moraine formation, the period of the Milne Land Moraines. The vegetation in the ice free areas was a sparse type of fell field vetetation but with thermophilous elements indicating temperatures similar to the present. From 9400 yr BP the fjord glaciers retreated rapidly in the narrow fjords, the few moraines formed are referred to the Roedefjord stages and indicate topographically conditioned stillstands. At 8000 yr BP the low arctic Betula nana imigrated into the area, and in the period until 5000 yr BP dense dwarf shrub heat grew in areas where it is now absent. In the fjords the subarctic Mytilus edulis and Pecten islandia lived, suggesting a climate warmer than the present. From c. 5000 yr BP the dense dwarf shrub heath began to disappear in the coastal areas, and a ''poor'' heat dominated by the high arctic Salix Arctica and Cassiope tetragona expanded. These two species, which are now extremely common, apparently did not grow in the area until c. 6000 yr BP. In lakes in the coastal area minerogenic sedimentation at c. 2800 yr BP, reflecting the general climatic deterioration. (author)

Ocean-wide Drivers of Migration Strategies and Their Influence on Population Breeding Performance in a Declining Seabird.

Science.gov (United States)

Fayet, Annette L; Freeman, Robin; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Diamond, Antony; Erikstad, Kjell E; Fifield, Dave; Fitzsimmons, Michelle G; Hansen, Erpur S; Harris, Mike P; Jessopp, Mark; Kouwenberg, Amy-Lee; Kress, Steve; Mowat, Stephen; Perrins, Chris M; Petersen, Aevar; Petersen, Ib K; Reiertsen, Tone K; Robertson, Gregory J; Shannon, Paula; Sigurðsson, Ingvar A; Shoji, Akiko; Wanless, Sarah; Guilford, Tim

2017-12-18

Which factors shape animals' migration movements across large geographical scales, how different migratory strategies emerge between populations, and how these may affect population dynamics are central questions in the field of animal migration [1] that only large-scale studies of migration patterns across a species' range can answer [2]. To address these questions, we track the migration of 270 Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica, a red-listed, declining seabird, across their entire breeding range. We investigate the role of demographic, geographical, and environmental variables in driving spatial and behavioral differences on an ocean-basin scale by measuring puffins' among-colony differences in migratory routes and day-to-day behavior (estimated with individual daily activity budgets and energy expenditure). We show that competition and local winter resource availability are important drivers of migratory movements, with birds from larger colonies or with poorer local winter conditions migrating further and visiting less-productive waters; this in turn led to differences in flight activity and energy expenditure. Other behavioral differences emerge with latitude, with foraging effort and energy expenditure increasing when birds winter further north in colder waters. Importantly, these ocean-wide migration patterns can ultimately be linked with breeding performance: colony productivity is negatively associated with wintering latitude, population size, and migration distance, which demonstrates the cost of competition and migration on future breeding and the link between non-breeding and breeding periods. Our results help us to understand the drivers of animal migration and have important implications for population dynamics and the conservation of migratory species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mercury concentrations in seabird tissues from Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick, Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bond, Alexander L., E-mail: abond@mun.ca [Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 (Canada); Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 (Canada); Diamond, Antony W. [Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 (Canada); Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 (Canada)

2009-07-01

Mercury is a pervasive environmental contaminant, the anthropogenic portion of which is increasing globally, and in northeastern North America in particular. Seabirds frequently are used as indicators of the marine environment, including mercury contamination. We analysed paired samples for total mercury (Hg) concentrations in feathers and blood from adult and chick, albumen, and lipid-free yolk of seven seabirds breeding on Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick, Canada - Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea), Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica), Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), Common Murre (Uria aalge), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), Leach's Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), and Razorbill (Alca torda). We also used stable-isotope ratios of carbon ({delta}{sup 13}C), and nitrogen ({delta}{sup 15}N) to evaluate the relationship between carbon source and trophic position and mercury. We found high Hg concentrations across tissue types in Leach's Storm-petrels, and Razorbills, with lower concentrations in other species, the lowest being in Common Eiders. Storm-petrels prey on mesopelagic fish that accumulate mercury, and Razorbills feed on larger, older fish that bioaccumulate heavy metals. Biomagnification of Hg, or the increase in Hg concentration with trophic position as measured by {delta}{sup 15}N, was significant and greater in albumen than other tissues, whereas in other tissues, {delta}{sup 15}N explained little of the overall variation in Hg concentration. Hg concentrations in egg components are higher on Machias Seal Island than other sites globally and in the Gulf of Maine region, but only for some species. Further detailed investigations are required to determine the cause of this trend.

Fouling community dominated by Metridium senile (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria in Bahía San Julián (southern Patagonia, Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Pablo Martin

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to provide information about a harbour-fouling community dominated by Metridium senile in southern Patagonia. Several steel tubes from the wharf of Puerto San Julián were extracted to perform repair tasks, allowing the attached benthic community to be studied. Sampling was conducted at three levels: lower intertidal, 3-4 m depth and 6-7 m depth. In the lower intertidal, M. senile had a relative abundance of 43%, the most abundant accompanying species being Perumytilus purpuratus, Mytilus edulis platensis and Aulacomya atra atra. At subtidal level, the anemone showed relative abundances of 64% and 65%, and was accompanied by Monocorophium insidiosum at 3-4 m depth and by polychaetes of families Sabellidae and Syllidae at 6-7 m at depth. In the lower intertidal, epibiosis was more frequent on P. purpuratus, A. atra atra and M. edulis platensis, while in the subtidal, the richness of substrate-organisms increased significantly and the anemone was fixed to A. atra atra, M. edulis platensis, Paramolgula gregaria, Crepipatella dilatata, Austromegabalanus psittacus, Hiatella arctica, Polyzoa opuntia, Pyura sp. and Sabellidae tubes. The ability of M. senile to settle on many different organisms, along with other strategies, makes it a colonizer able to displace other species that could compete with it for substratum. Given the cosmopolitan nature of M. senile, the fact that this species has not been previously reported in the coastal zone of the region, and the results of our study, we discuss the possibility that this sea anemone is an invasive alien species in southern Patagonia, or at least a cryptogenic species.

Biological and climate controls on North Atlantic marine carbon dynamics over the last millennium: Insights from an absolutely-dated shell based record from the North Icelandic Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, I. R.; Reynolds, D.; Scourse, J. D.; Richardson, C.; Wanamaker, A. D.; Butler, P. G.

2017-12-01

Given the rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) over the industrial era there is a pressing need to construct longterm records of natural carbon cycling prior to this perturbation and to develop a more robust understanding of the role the oceans play in the sequestration of atmospheric carbon. Here we reconstruct the historical biological and climatic controls on the carbon isotopic (δ13C-shell) composition of the North Icelandic shelf waters over the last millennium derived from the shells of the long-lived marine bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica. Variability in the annually resolved δ13C-shell record is dominated by multi-decadal variability with a negative trend (-0.003±0.002‰yr-1) over the industrial era (1800-2000). This trend is consistent with the marine Suess effect brought about by the sequestration of isotopically light carbon (δ13C of CO2) derived from the burning of fossil fuels. Comparison of the δ13C-shell record with contemporary proxy archives, over the last millennium, and instrumental data over the 20th century, suggests that primary productivity and climate conditions over the sub-polar North Atlantic region played a vital role in driving inter-annual to multi-decadal scale variability in the δ13C-shell record. Our results highlight that relative shifts in the proportion of sub-polar mode waters and Arctic intermediate waters entrained onto the North Icelandic shelf, coupled with atmospheric circulation patterns associated with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (wNAO), are the likely physical mechanisms that drive natural variations in seawater δ13C variability on the North Icelandic shelf.

Biological and Climate Controls on North Atlantic Marine Carbon Dynamics Over the Last Millennium: Insights From an Absolutely Dated Shell-Based Record From the North Icelandic Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, D. J.; Hall, I. R.; Scourse, J. D.; Richardson, C. A.; Wanamaker, A. D.; Butler, P. G.

2017-12-01

Given the rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) over the industrial era, there is a pressing need to construct long-term records of natural carbon cycling prior to this perturbation and to develop a more robust understanding of the role the oceans play in the sequestration of atmospheric carbon. Here we reconstruct the past biological and climate controls on the carbon isotopic (δ13Cshell) composition of the North Icelandic shelf waters over the last millennium, derived from the shells of the long-lived marine bivalve mollusk Arctica islandica. Variability in the annually resolved δ13Cshell record is dominated by multidecadal variability with a negative trend (-0.003 ± 0.002‰ yr-1) over the industrial era (1800-2000 Common Era). This trend is consistent with the marine Suess effect brought about by the sequestration of isotopically light carbon (δ13C of CO2) derived from the burning of fossil fuels. Comparison of the δ13Cshell record with Contemporaneous proxy archives, over the last millennium, and instrumental data over the twentieth century, highlights that both biological (primary production) and physical environmental factors, such as relative shifts in the proportion of Subpolar Mode Waters and Arctic Intermediate Waters entrained onto the North Icelandic shelf, atmospheric circulation patterns associated with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation, and sea surface temperature and salinity of the subpolar gyre, are the likely mechanisms that contribute to natural variations in seawater δ13C variability on the North Icelandic shelf. Contrasting δ13C fractionation processes associated with these biological and physical mechanisms likely cause the attenuated marine Suess effect signal at this locality.

Numerical simulation of extreme snowmelt observed at the SIGMA-A site, northwest Greenland, during summer 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Niwano

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The surface energy balance (SEB from 30 June to 14 July 2012 at site SIGMA (Snow Impurity and Glacial Microbe effects on abrupt warming in the Arctic-A, (78°03' N, 67°38' W; 1490 m a.s.l. on the northwest Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS was investigated by using in situ atmospheric and snow measurements as well as numerical modeling with a one-dimensional multi-layered physical snowpack model called SMAP (Snow Metamorphism and Albedo Process. At SIGMA-A, remarkable near-surface snowmelt and continuous heavy rainfall (accumulated precipitation between 10 and 14 July was estimated to be 100 mm were observed after 10 July 2012. Application of the SMAP model to the GrIS snowpack was evaluated based on the snow temperature profile, snow surface temperature, surface snow grain size, and shortwave albedo, all of which the model simulated reasonably well. Above all, the fact that the SMAP model successfully reproduced frequently observed rapid increases in snow albedo under cloudy conditions highlights the advantage of the physically based snow albedo model (PBSAM incorporated in the SMAP model. Using such data and model, we estimated the SEB at SIGMA-A from 30 June to 14 July 2012. Radiation-related fluxes were obtained from in situ measurements, whereas other fluxes were calculated with the SMAP model. By examining the components of the SEB, we determined that low-level clouds accompanied by a significant temperature increase played an important role in the melt event observed at SIGMA-A. These conditions induced a remarkable surface heating via cloud radiative forcing in the polar region.

A shell-derived time history of bomb 14C on Georges Bank and its Labrador Sea implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidman, C.R.; Jones, G.A.

1993-01-01

Bomb-produced radiocarbon has been used in the past as an important tracer of ocean circulation and as a valuable tool for calculating CO 2 air-sea exchange. However, previous studies of the ocean's time-varying bomb 14 C record have been confined exclusively to analyzing banded corals, and thus their application has been limited to the lower latitudes. The first time history of bomb 14 C from the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean is obtained from a 54-year-old mollusc specimen, (Bivalvia) Arctica islandica, which was collected live from Georges Bank (41 degrees N) in 1990. The annual growth bands of its shell were analyzed for Δ 14 C using accelerator mass spectrometry, producing a Δ 14 C time history from 1939 to 1990. The depleted condition of the Georges Bank bomb 14 C signal relative to two coral-derived North Atlantic Δ 14 C time histories suggests a significant deepwater source for the waters on Georges Bank. Supported by previous work linking the origin of waters on Georges Bank to the Labrador Sea, the Δ 14 C budget on Georges Bank is modeled as Labrador Sea water, which largely becomes confined to the shelf and partially equilibrates with the atmosphere during a 1-year transit time from the Labrador Sea to Georges Bank. This model is also used to estimate a time history of bomb 14 C for the Labrador Sea. Prebomb Δ 14 C values calculated for the surface Labrador Sea suggest that a greater inventory of bomb 14 C has accumulated here than has previously been reported. Deduced variations in the ventilation and/or 14 CO 2 uptake rates in the Labrador Sea correspond with observed changes in surface salinity of the Labrador Sea, suggesting a reduction in deepwater formation during the late 1960s and 1970s. 59 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs

Diel Variation of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emissions- A field Study in the Sub, Low and High Arctic on the Effect of Temperature and Light

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Lindwall, Frida; Faubert, Patrick; Rinnan, Riikka

2015-01-01

Many hours of sunlight in the midnight sun period suggest that significant amounts of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) may be released from arctic ecosystems during night-time. However, the emissions from these ecosystems are rarely studied and limited to point measurements during daytime. We measured BVOC emissions during 24-hour periods in the field using a push-pull chamber technique and collection of volatiles in adsorbent cartridges followed by analysis with gas chromatography- mass spectrometry. Five different arctic vegetation communities were examined: high arctic heaths dominated by Salix arctica and Cassiope tetragona, low arctic heaths dominated by Salix glauca and Betula nana and a subarctic peatland dominated by the moss Warnstorfia exannulata and the sedge Eriophorum russeolum. We also addressed how climate warming affects the 24-hour emission and how the daytime emissions respond to sudden darkness. The emissions from the high arctic sites were lowest and had a strong diel variation with almost no emissions during night-time. The low arctic sites as well as the subarctic site had a more stable release of BVOCs during the 24-hour period with night-time emissions in the same range as those during the day. These results warn against overlooking the night period when considering arctic emissions. During the day, the quantity of BVOCs and the number of different compounds emitted was higher under ambient light than in darkness. The monoterpenes α-fenchene, α -phellandrene, 3-carene and α-terpinene as well as isoprene were absent in dark measurements during the day. Warming by open top chambers increased the emission rates both in the high and low arctic sites, forewarning higher emissions in a future warmer climate in the Arctic. PMID:25897519

Diel Variation of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emissions--A field Study in the Sub, Low and High Arctic on the Effect of Temperature and Light.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindwall, Frida; Faubert, Patrick; Rinnan, Riikka

2015-01-01

Many hours of sunlight in the midnight sun period suggest that significant amounts of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) may be released from arctic ecosystems during night-time. However, the emissions from these ecosystems are rarely studied and limited to point measurements during daytime. We measured BVOC emissions during 24-hour periods in the field using a push-pull chamber technique and collection of volatiles in adsorbent cartridges followed by analysis with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Five different arctic vegetation communities were examined: high arctic heaths dominated by Salix arctica and Cassiope tetragona, low arctic heaths dominated by Salix glauca and Betula nana and a subarctic peatland dominated by the moss Warnstorfia exannulata and the sedge Eriophorum russeolum. We also addressed how climate warming affects the 24-hour emission and how the daytime emissions respond to sudden darkness. The emissions from the high arctic sites were lowest and had a strong diel variation with almost no emissions during night-time. The low arctic sites as well as the subarctic site had a more stable release of BVOCs during the 24-hour period with night-time emissions in the same range as those during the day. These results warn against overlooking the night period when considering arctic emissions. During the day, the quantity of BVOCs and the number of different compounds emitted was higher under ambient light than in darkness. The monoterpenes α-fenchene, α-phellandrene, 3-carene and α-terpinene as well as isoprene were absent in dark measurements during the day. Warming by open top chambers increased the emission rates both in the high and low arctic sites, forewarning higher emissions in a future warmer climate in the Arctic.

Quantification of diagenetic overprint processes deduced from fossil carbonate shells and laboratory-based hydrothermal alteration experiments

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Griesshaber, Erika; Casella, Laura; Mavromatis, Vasileios; Dietzel, Martin; Immenhauser, Adrian; Schmahl, Wolfgang

2016-04-01

Benthic and nektonic marine biogenic carbonate archives represent the foundation of numerous studies aiming at reconstructions of past climate dynamics and environmental change. However, living organisms are not in thermodynamic equilibrium and create local chemical environments where physiologic processes such as biomineralization takes place. After the death of the organism the former physiologic disequilibrium conditions are not sustained any more and all biological tissues are altered by equilibration according to the surrounding environment: diagenesis. With increasing diagenetic alteration, the biogenic structure and fingerprint fades away and is replaced by inorganic features. Thus, recrystallization of organism-specific microstructure is a clear indicator for diagenetic overprint. Microstructural data, which mirror recrystallization, are of great value for interpreting geochemical proxies for paleo-environment reconstruction. Despite more than a century of research dealing with carbonate diagenesis, many of the controlling processes and factors are only understood in a qualitative manner. One of the main issues is that diagenetically altered carbonates are usually present as the product of a complex preceding diagenetic pathway with an unknown number of intermediate steps. In this contribution we present and discuss laboratory based alteration experiments with the aim to investigate time-series data sets in a controlled manner. We conducted hydrothermal alteration experiments with modern Arctica islandica (bivalvia) and Notosaria nigricans (brachiopoda) in order to mimic diagenetic overprint. We explore first the potential of electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements together with statistical data evaluation as a tool to quantify diagenetic alteration of carbonate skeletons. Subsequently, we compare microstructural patterns obtained from experimentally altered shell material with those of fossil specimens that have undergone variable degrees of

The Bering Land Bridge: a moisture barrier to the dispersal of steppe-tundra biota?

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, Scott A.; Crocker, Barnaby

2008-12-01

The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) connected the two principal arctic biological refugia, Western and Eastern Beringia, during intervals of lowered sea level in the Pleistocene. Fossil evidence from lowland BLB organic deposits dating to the Last Glaciation indicates that this broad region was dominated by shrub tundra vegetation, and had a mesic climate. The dominant ecosystem in Western Beringia and the interior regions of Eastern Beringia was steppe-tundra, with herbaceous plant communities and arid climate. Although Western and Eastern Beringia shared many species in common during the Late Pleistocene, there were a number of species that were restricted to only one side of the BLB. Among the vertebrate fauna, the woolly rhinoceros was found only to the west of the BLB, North American camels, bonnet-horned musk-oxen and some horse species were found only to the east of the land bridge. These were all steppe-tundra inhabitants, adapted to grazing. The same phenomenon can be seen in the insect faunas of the Western and Eastern Beringia. The steppe-tundra beetle fauna of Western Beringia was dominated by weevils of the genus Stephanocleonus, a group that was virtually absent from Eastern Beringia. The dry-adapted weevils, Lepidophorus lineaticollis and Vitavitus thulius were important members of steppe-tundra communities in Eastern Beringia, but were either absent or rare in Western Beringia. The leaf beetles Chrysolina arctica, C. brunnicornis bermani, and Galeruca interrupta circumdata were typical members of the Pleistocene steppe-tundra communities of Western Beringia, but absent from Eastern Beringia. On the other hand, some steppe tundra-adapted leaf beetles managed to occupy both sides of the BLB, such as Phaedon armoraciae. Much of the BLB remains unstudied, but on biogeographic grounds, it appears that there was some kind of biological filter that blocked the movements of some steppe-tundra plants and animals across the BLB.

Sea spray as a source of ice nucleating particles - results from the AIDA Ocean03 campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Salter, M. E.; Ickes, L.; Adams, M.; Bierbauer, S.; Bilde, M.; Christiansen, S.; Ekman, A.; Gorokhova, E.; Höhler, K.; Kiselev, A. A.; Leck, C.; Mohr, C.; Mohler, O.; Murray, B. J.; Porter, G.; Ullrich, R.; Wagner, R.

2017-12-01

Clouds and their radiative effects are one of the major influences on the radiative fluxes in the atmosphere, but at the same time they remain the largest uncertainty in climate models. This lack of understanding is especially pronounced in the high Arctic. Summertime clouds can persist over long periods in this region, which is difficult to replicate in models based on our current understanding. The clouds most often encountered in the summertime high Arctic consist of a mixture of ice crystals and super-cooled water droplets, so-called mixed-phase clouds. This cloud type is sensitive to the availability of aerosol particles, which can act as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei. However, since the high Arctic is a pristine region, aerosol particles are not very abundant, and the hypothesis of open leads in the Arctic as a potentially important source of cloud and ice nucleating particles via bubble bursting has emerged. In this context, we have conducted a series of experiments at the AIDA chamber at KIT, designed to investigate the mechanisms linking marine biology, seawater chemistry and aerosol physics/potential cloud impacts. During this campaign, two marine diatom species (Melosira arctica and Skeletonema marinoi) as well as sea surface microlayer samples collected during several Arctic Ocean research cruises were investigated. To aerosolize the samples, a variety of methods were used including a sea spray simulation chamber to mimic the process of bubble-bursting. The ice nucleating efficiency (mixed-phase cloud regime) of the samples was determined either directly in the AIDA chamber during adiabatic expansions, or using the INKA continuous flow diffusion chamber, or a cold stage. Results from the campaign along with the potential implications are presented.

Sarcocystis caninum and Sarcocystis svanai n. spp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) Associated with Severe Myositis and Hepatitis in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

Science.gov (United States)

Dubey, J. P.; Sykes, J. E.; Shelton, G. D.; Sharp, N.; Verma, S. K.; Calero-Bernal, R.; Viviano, J.; Sundar, N.; Khan, A.; Grigg, M. E.

2014-01-01

There are several reports of Sarcocystis sarcocysts in muscles of dogs but these species have not been named. Additionally, there are 2 reports of Sarcocystis neurona in dogs. Here, we propose 2 new names, Sarcocystis caninum, and Sarcocystis svanai for sarcocysts associated with clinical muscular sarcocystosis in 4 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), 1 each from Montana and Colorado in the USA, and 2 from British Columbia, Canada. Only the sarcocyst stage was identified. Most of the sarcocysts identified were S. caninum. Sarcocysts were studied using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and PCR. Based on collective results 2 new species, Sarcocystis caninum and Sarcocystis svanai were designated. Sarcocystis caninum and Sarcocystis svanai were structurally distinct. Sarcocystis caninum sarcocysts were up to 1.2 mm long and up to 75 μm wide. By light microscopy, the sarcocyst wall was relatively thin and smooth. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the sarcocyst wall “type 9”, 1–2 μm thick, and contained villar protrusions that lacked microtubules. Bradyzoites in sections were 7–9 μm long. Sarcocysts of S. svanai were few and were identified by TEM. Sarcocystis svanai sarcocysts were “type 1”, thin walled (< 0.5 μm), and the wall lacked villar protrusions but had tiny blebs that did not invaginate. DNA was extracted either from infected frozen muscle biopsies or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections. Dogs were either singly infected with S. caninum or multiply co-infected with S. caninum and S. svanai (the result of a mixed infection) based on multi-locus DNA sequencing and morphology. BLASTn analysis established that the sarcocysts identified in these dogs were similar to, but not identical to S. canis or S. arctosi, parasites found to infect polar bears (Ursus maritimus) or brown bears (Ursus arctosi), respectively. However, the S. caninum sequence showed 100% identify over the 18S rRNA region sequenced to that of S. arctica

Suprabenthic assemblages from the Capbreton area (SE Bay of Biscay). Faunal recovery after a canyon turbidity disturbance

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Frutos, Inmaculada; Sorbe, Jean Claude

2017-12-01

In the Capbreton area, suprabenthic assemblages were sampled with a sledge towed over the bottom, at different sites located within the upper part of a 'gouf-type' canyon (8 hauls between 642 m and 797 m, on the axis of the thalweg or on flat perched flank terraces such as site K), on the northern adjacent open slope (2 hauls between 500 and 567 m) and on the northern adjacent shelf margin (2 hauls between 151 m and 158 m). A multivariate analysis carried on the faunal data discriminated different assemblages in this area: a near-canyon shelf assemblage (55 species, mainly amphipods and decapods; 3496 ind./100 m2, 40% mysids; dominant species: Nyctiphanes couchii, Leptomysis gracilis, Weswoodilla rectirostris, Anchialina agilis, Scopelocheirus hopei and Philocheras bispinosus); an open slope assemblage (111 species, mainly amphipods and isopods; 249 ind./100 m2, 36% amphipods; dominant species: Disconectes phalangium, Munnopsurus atlanticus and Boreomysis arctica); a canyon E assemblage (129 species, mainly amphipods, mysids and cumaceans; 1172 ind./100 m2, 58% amphipods; dominant species: Melphidippa sp. B, Chelator insignis); a canyon E' assemblage (107 species, mainly amphipods and mysids; 507 ind./100 m2, 73% amphipods; dominant species: Cleonardopsis carinata, Bonnierella abyssorum, Rhachotropis caeca and Arcturopsis giardi); and a temporary canyon assemblage at site K (34 species, mainly amphipods and mysids; 899 ind./100 m2, 85% amphipods; dominant species: Tmetomyx similis, Caeconyx caeculus, Nebalia sp. A and Cleonardopsis carinata). Site K was sampled only four months after a turbidity event, detected on sediment cores (18 cm thick Bouma sequence) taken during the same cruise and triggered by the violent storm ('ouragan Martin', wind up to 200 km/h) which affected the French Atlantic coast on 27 December 1999. The corresponding suprabenthic assemblage showed evidence of deep structural changes after this catastrophic event, characterized by relative low

How Vulnerable is Perennial Sea Ice? Insights from Earth's Late Cenozoic Natural Experiments (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Brigham-Grette, J.; Polyak, L. V.; Caissie, B.; Sharko, C. J.; Petsch, S.

2010-12-01

Sea ice is an important component of the climate system. Yet, reconstructions of Arctic sea ice conditions reflecting glacial and interglacial change over the past 3 million years are almost nonexistent. Our work to evaluate the sea ice and sea surface temperature record of the Bering Strait region builds on a review of the sea ice history of the pan-Arctic. The best estimates of sea ice make use of indirect proxies based on reconstructions of treeline, sea surface temperatures, depositional systems, and the ecological preferences of extant marine microfossil species. The development of new proxies of past sea ice extent including microfossil assemblages (diatoms, ostracodes) and biomarker proxies (IP25) show promise for quantifying seasonal concentrations of sea ice cover on centennial to millennial timescales. Using both marine and terrestrial information, periods of restricted sea ice and ice-free Arctic conditions can be inferred for parts of the late Cenozoic. The Arctic Ocean borderlands contain clear stratigraphic evidence for forested conditions at intervals over the past 50 million years, recording the migration of treeline from High Arctic coastal locations within the Canadian Archipelago. Metasequoia forests of the peak Eocene gave way to a variety of biomass-rich circumarctic redwood forests by 46 Ma. Between 23 and 16 Ma, cool-temperate metasequoia forests dominated NE Alaska and the Yukon while mixed conifer-hardwood forests (similar to those of modern southern maritime Canada and New England) dominated the central Canadian Archipelago. By 16 Ma, these forests gave way to larch and spruce. From 5 to 3 Ma the braid plains of the Beaufort Fm were dominated by over 100 vascular plants including pine and birch, while other locations remained dominated by spruce and larch. Boreal conditions across northern Greenland and arctic Alaska are consistent with the presence of bivalve Arctica islandica in marine sediments capping the Beaufort Formation on Meighen

Orbitally-forced Azolla blooms and middle Eocene Arctic hydrology; clues from palynology

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Barke, Judith; Abels, Hemmo A.; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Greenwood, David R.; Sweet, Arthur R.; Donders, Timme; Lotter, Andre F.; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Brinkhuis, Henk

2010-05-01

The presence of high abundances of the freshwater fern Azolla in the early Middle Eocene central Arctic Ocean sediments recovered from the Lomonosov Ridge during IODP Expedition 302, have been related to the presence of a substantial freshwater cap. Azolla massulae, belonging to the newly described Eocene species Azolla arctica Collinson et al., have been found over at least a ~4 m-thick interval. There are strong indications that Azolla has bloomed and reproduced in situ in the Arctic Ocean for several hundreds of thousands of years. Possible causes for the sudden demise of Azolla at ~48.1 Ma include salinity changes due to evolving oceanic connections or sea-level change. Distinct cyclic fluctuation in the Azolla massulae abundances have previously been related to orbitally forced climate changes. In this study, we evaluate the possible underlying forcing mechanisms for these freshwater cycles and for the eventual demise of Azolla in an integrated palynological and cyclostratigraphical approach. Our results show two clear periodicities of ~1.3 and ~0.7 m in all major aquatic and terrestrial palynomorph associations, which we can relate to obliquity (41 ka) and precession (~21 ka), respectively. Cycles in the abundances of Azolla, freshwater-tolerant dinoflagellate cysts, and swamp vegetation pollen show co-variability in the obliquity domain. Their strong correlation suggests periods of enhanced rainfall and runoff during Azolla blooms, possibly associated with increased summer season length and insolation during obliquity maxima. Cycles in the angiosperm pollen record are in anti-phase with the Azolla cycles. We interpret this pattern as edaphically drier conditions on land and reduced associated runoff during Azolla lows, possibly corresponding to obliquity minima. The precession signal is distinctly weaker than that for obliquity, and is mainly detectable in the cold-temperate Larix and bisaccate conifer pollen abundances, which is interpreted as a response to

Kinetics of water-mediated proton transfer in our atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loerting, T.

2000-07-01

Variational transition state theory and multidimensional tunneling methods on hybrid density functional theory generated hypersurfaces have been used to investigate the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constants of water-mediated proton transfer reactions relevant to the chemistry of our atmosphere, namely the hydration of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide and the decomposition of chlorine nitrate. Highly accurate reaction barriers were calculated using ab initio methods taking into account most of the electron correlation, namely CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ and G2(MP2). On comparing the determined rate constants with laboratory and atmospheric data, the following points could be established: All of the investigated reactions are highly sensitive to changes in humidity, as water acts as efficient catalyst, i.e., the barrier to the reaction is reduced drastically. Present-day atmospheric chemistry can only be explained when a limited number of water molecules is available for the formation of molecular clusters. Both in the troposphere and in the stratosphere SO 3 is hydrated rather than SO 2 . SO 2 emissions have to be oxidized, therefore, before being subject to hydration. A mechanism involving two or three water molecules is relevant for the production of sulfate aerosols, which play a decisive role in the context of global climate change and acid rain. A third water molecule has the function of assisting double-proton transfer rather than acting as active participant in triple-proton transfer in the case of the hydration of sulfur oxides. The observed ozone depletion above Arctica and Antarctica can be explained either by decomposition of chlorine nitrate in the presence of three water molecules (triple proton transfer) or by decomposition of chlorine nitrate in the presence of one molecule of HCl and one molecule of water (double proton transfer). The preassociation reaction required for homogeneous gas-phase conversion of chlorine

Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca in Glycymeris glycymeris (Bivalvia) shells from the Iberian upwelling system: Ontogeny and environmental control

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Pedro; Richardson, Christopher; Chenery, Simon; Monteiro, Carlos; Butler, Paul; Reynolds, David; Scourse, James; Gaspar, Miguel

2017-04-01

Bivalve shells have a great potential as high-resolution geochemical proxy archives of marine environmental conditions. In addition, sclerochronology of long-lived bivalve species (e.g. Arctica islandica) provides a timeline of absolutely dated shell material for geochemical analysis that can extend into the past beyond the lifetime of single individuals through the use of replicated crossmatched centennial to millennial chronologies. However, the interpretation of such records remains extremely challenging and complex, with multiple environmental and biological processes affecting element incorporation in the shell (e.g. crystal fabrics, organic matrix, biomineralization mechanisms and physiological processes). As a result, the effective use of bivalve shell elemental/Ca ratios as palaeoenvironmental proxies has been limited, often to species-specific applications or applications restricted to particular environmental settings. The dog-cockle, Glycymeris glycymeris, is a relatively long-lived bivalve (up to 200 years) that occurs in coarse-grained subtidal sediments of coastal shelf seas of Europe and North West Africa. Glycymeris glycymeris shells provide a valuable, albeit not fully explored, archive to reconstruct past environmental variability in an area lacking sclerochronological studies due to the rarity of long-lived bivalves and lack of coral reefs. In this study, we evaluate the potential of Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in G. glycymeris shells as geochemical proxies of upwelling conditions in the Iberian Upwelling System, the northern section of the Canary Current Eastern Boundary Upwelling System. Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca generally co-varied significantly and a clear ontogenetic, non-environmental related change in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca variability was observed. High Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in older shells (> 10 years old) were found to be associated with the occurrence of growth lines deposited during the winter reduction in shell growth. Nevertheless, Sr/Ca and Mg

"Recent" macrofossil remains from the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Le Duc, Cynthia; de Vernal, Anne; Archambault, Philippe; Brice, Camille; Roberge, Philippe

2016-04-01

The examination of surface sediment samples collected from 17 sites along the Lomonosov Ridge at water depths ranging from 737 to 3339 meters during Polarstern Expedition PS87 in 2014 (Stein, 2015), indicates a rich biogenic content almost exclusively dominated by calcareous remains. Amongst biogenic remains, microfossils (planktic and benthic foraminifers, pteropods, ostracods, etc.) dominate but millimetric to centrimetric macrofossils occurred frequently at the surface of the sediment. The macrofossil remains consist of a large variety of taxa, including gastropods, bivalvia, polychaete tubes, scaphopods, echinoderm plates and spines, and fish otoliths. Among the Bivalvia, the most abundant taxa are Portlandia arctica, Hyalopecten frigidus, Cuspidaria glacilis, Policordia densicostata, Bathyarca spp., and Yoldiella spp. Whereas a few specimens are well preserved and apparently pristine, most mollusk shells displayed extensive alteration features. Moreover, most shells were covered by millimeter scale tubes of the serpulid polychaete Spirorbis sp. suggesting transport from low intertidal or subtidal zone. Both the ecological affinity and known geographic distribution of identified bivalvia as named above support the hypothesis of transportation rather than local development. In addition to mollusk shells, more than a hundred fish otoliths were recovered in surface sediments. The otoliths mostly belong to the Gadidae family. Most of them are well preserved and without serpulid tubes attached to their surface, suggesting a local/regional origin, unlike the shell remains. Although recovered at the surface, the macrofaunal assemblages of the Lomonosov Ridge do not necessarily represent the "modern" environments as they may result from reworking and because their occurrence at the surface of the sediment may also be due to winnowing of finer particles. Although the shells were not dated, we suspect that their actual ages may range from modern to several thousands of

Carbon cycling in a high-arctic marine ecosystem - Young Sound, NE Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Rysgaard, Søren; Nielsen, Torkel Gissel

2006-10-01

of 7 g C m -2 yr -1 was determined. A group of walruses (up to 50 adult males) feed in the area in shallow waters (<40 m) during the short, productive, ice-free period, and they have been shown to be able to consume <3% of the standing stock of bivalves ( Hiatella arctica, Mya truncata and Serripes Groenlandicus), or half of the annual bivalve somatic production. Feeding at greater depths is negligible in comparison with their feeding in the bivalve-rich shallow waters.

Hydrothermal replacement of biogenic and abiogenic aragonite by Mg-carbonates - Relation between textural control on effective element fluxes and resulting carbonate phase

Science.gov (United States)

Jonas, Laura; Müller, Thomas; Dohmen, Ralf; Immenhauser, Adrian; Putlitz, Benita

2017-01-01

Dolomitization, i.e., the secondary replacement of calcite or aragonite (CaCO3) by dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2), is one of the most volumetrically important carbonate diagenetic processes. It occurs under near surface and shallow burial conditions and can significantly modify rock properties through changes in porosity and permeability. Dolomitization fronts are directly coupled to fluid pathways, which may be related to the initial porosity/permeability of the precursor limestone, an existing fault network or secondary porosity/permeability created through the replacement reaction. In this study, the textural control on the replacement of biogenic and abiogenic aragonite by Mg-carbonates, that are typical precursor phases in the dolomitization process, was experimentally studied under hydrothermal conditions. Aragonite samples with different textural and microstructural properties exhibiting a compact (inorganic aragonite single crystal), an intermediate (bivalve shell of Arctica islandica) and open porous structure (skeleton of coral Porites sp.) were reacted with a solution of 0.9 M MgCl2 and 0.015 M SrCl2 at 200 °C. The replacement of aragonite by a Ca-bearing magnesite and a Mg-Ca carbonate of non-stoichiometric dolomitic composition takes place via a dissolution-precipitation process and leads to the formation of a porous reaction front that progressively replaces the aragonite precursor. The reaction leads to the development of porosity within the reaction front and distinctive microstructures such as gaps and cavities at the reaction interface. The newly formed reaction rim consists of chemically distinct phases separated by sharp boundaries. It was found that the number of phases and their chemical variation decreases with increasing initial porosity and reactive surface area. This observation is explained by variations in effective element fluxes that result in differential chemical gradients in the fluid within the pore space of the reaction rim. Observed

ER-2 #809 on the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) with pilot Dee Porter prepari

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

Lockheed Martin pilot Dee Porter climbs up the ladder wearing a heavy tan pressure suit, preparing to board NASA ER-2 #809 at Kiruna, Sweden, for the third flight in the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment. Assisting him is Jim Sokolik, a Lockheed Martin life support technician. Number 809, one of Dryden's two high-flying ER-2 Airborne Science aircraft, a civilian variant of Lockheed's U-2, and another NASA flying laboratory, Dryden's DC-8, were based north of the Arctic Circle in Kiruna, Sweden during the winter of 2000 to study ozone depletion as part of the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE). A large hangar built especially for research, 'Arena Arctica' housed the instrumented aircraft and the scientists. Scientists have observed unusually low levels of ozone over the Arctic during recent winters, raising concerns that ozone depletion there could become more widespread as in the Antarctic ozone hole. The NASA-sponsored international mission took place between November 1999 and March 2000 and was divided into three phases. The DC-8 was involved in all three phases returning to Dryden between each phase. The ER-2 flew sample collection flights between January and March, remaining in Sweden from Jan. 9 through March 16. 'The collaborative campaign will provide an immense new body of information about the Arctic stratosphere,' said program scientist Dr. Michael Kurylo, NASA Headquarters. 'Our understanding of the Earth's ozone will be greatly enhanced by this research.' ER-2s bearing tail numbers 806 and 809 are used as airborne science platforms by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. The aircraft are platforms for a variety of high-altitude science missions flown over various parts of the world. They are also used for earth science and atmospheric sensor research and development, satellite calibration and data validation. The ER-2s are capable of carrying a maximum payload of 2,600 pounds of experiments in a nose bay, the main

Plant eco-physiological responses to multiple environmental and climate changes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rost Albert, K.

2009-03-15

The current global changes of temperature, precipitation, atmospheric CO{sub 2} and UV-B radiation impact in concert ecosystems and processes in an unpredictable way. Therefore multifactor experimentation is needed to unravel the variability in strength of these drivers, whether the factors act additively or synergistically and to establish cause-effect relations between ecosystem processes. This thesis deals with heath plant responses to global change factors (the CLIMAITE project). In a Danish temperate heath ecosystem elevated CO{sub 2}, experimental summer drought, and passive nighttime warming was applied in all combinations (based on the scenario for Denmark anno 2075) and the responses after one year of treatment were investigated through a growing season in Hairgrass (Deschampsia flexousa) and Heather (Calluna vulgaris). In a high arctic heath ecosystem situated in NE-Greenland UV-B exclusion experiments were conducted on Salix arctica and Vaccinium uliginosum during six years. Responses of photosynthesis performance were characterized on the leaf scale by means of leaf gas-exchange (A/Ci curves), chlorophyll-a fluorescence, leaf nitrogen, carbon and delta13C and secondary compounds. The main findings were 1) The different growth strategies of the evergreen Calluna versus the opportunistic bi-phasic Deschampsia affects the photosynthesis response to drought and autumn warming; 2) Elevated CO{sub 2} and warming synergistically increase photosynthesis in spring and autumn; 3) Summer drought decreased photosynthesis in both species, but where Calluna maintained photosynthetic metabolism then major proportion of grass leaves wilted down; 4) Elevated CO{sub 2} did not decrease stomatal conductance, but the treatments affected soil water content positively, pointing to the complex water relations when plants of contrasting growth strategy co-occur; 5) Water availability affected the magnitude of photosynthesis to a higher degree than warming and elevated CO{sub 2

Coastal-change and glaciological map of the Ronne Ice Shelf area, Antarctica, 1974-2002

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrigno, Jane G.; Foley, K.M.; Swithinbank, C.; Williams, R.S.; Dalide, L.M.

2005-01-01

(MSS) images of Ant-arctica and the subsequent repeat coverage made possible with Landsat and other satellite images provided an excellent means of documenting changes in the coastline of Antarctica (Ferrigno and Gould, 1987). The availability of this information provided the impetus for carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the glaciological features of the coastal regions and changes in ice fronts of Antarctica (Swithinbank, 1988; Williams and Ferrigno, 1988). The project was later modified to include Landsat 4 and 5 MSS and Thematic Mapper (TM) (and in some areas Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)), RADARSAT images, and other data where available, to compare changes during a 20- to 25- or 30-year time interval (or longer where data were available, as in the Antarctic Peninsula). The results of the analysis are being used to produce a digital database and a series of USGS Geologic Investigations Series Maps (I-2600) consisting of 23 maps at 1:1,000,000 scale and 1 map at 1:5,000,000 scale, in both paper and digital format (Williams and others, 1995; Williams and Ferrigno, 1998; Ferrigno and others, 2002) (available online at http://www.glaciers.er.usgs.gov).

North-Western Palaearctic species of Pristiphora (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko Prous

2017-09-01

arctica Lindqvist, 1959, syn. n., Pachynematus incisus Lindqvist, 1970, syn. n., Pachynematus intermedius Verzhutskii, 1974, syn. n., and P. mongololaricis Haris, 2003, syn. n. with P. malaisei (Lindqvist, 1952; Nematus anderschi Zaddach, 1876, syn. n., P. inocreata Konow, 1902, syn. n., and P. discolor Lindqvist, 1975, syn. n. with P. nigricans (Eversmann, 1847; Lygaeonematus tenuicornis Lindqvist, 1955, syn. n. with P. paralella (Hartig, 1840; Lygaeonematus concolor Lindqvist, 1952, syn. n. with P. pseudocoactula (Lindqvist, 1952; P. flavipicta Lindqvist, 1975, syn. n., P. flavopleura Haris, 2002, syn. n., P. mongoloexigua Haris, 2002, syn. n., and P. mongolofausta Haris, 2003, syn. n. with P. punctifrons (Thomson, 1871; P. listoni Lacourt, 1998, syn. n. with P. sootryeni Lindqvist, 1955; P. gaunitzi Lindqvist, 1968, syn. n. with P. testacea (Jurine, 1807; and Nematus breviusculus Eversmann, 1847, syn. n. with Euura melanocephalus (Hartig, 1837. The valid name of Pachynematus (Pikonema carpathiensis Haris, 2001 is Nematinus carpathiensis (Haris, 2001 comb. n. Lectotypes are designated for 43 taxa. An illustrated electronic key made with Lucid and a traditional dichotomous key are provided to facilitate identification of the species. Species belonging to the carinata (previously Lygaeotus, micronematica (previously Lygaeophora, and rufipes (also known as thalictri or aquilegiae groups are not keyed to the species level, because additional research is needed to delimit the species more reliably in these groups. Phylogeny of Pristiphora is reconstructed based on one mitochondrial (COI and two nuclear (NaK and TPI genes. Remarkably, around 50–60% (depending on the exclusion or inclusion of the carinata, micronematica, and rufipes groups of the species cannot be reliably identified based on COI barcodes. Limited data from nuclear genes indicate a better identification potential (about 20% remain problematic.

Resúmenes de las tesis de grado en floricultura realizadas en la Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá D.C., entre 1981 y 1993

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Casas Eduardo

1992-12-01

para el control integrado de la mosca blanca de los invernaderos (Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood, bajo condiciones de la sabana de Bogotá. / Asociación de Onychiurus armatus Tullberg y Fusarium oxysporum Schl. f. sp. dianthi, con relación a los daños causados en el cultivo del clavel (Dianthus caryophyllus L. /  Cría y comportamiento en campo de Trichogramma cerca pretiosum Riley para el control de Copitarsia consueta Walker. / Curvas poblacionales y calibración de trampas para Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard, plaga en Gypsophila paniculata bajo invernadero en la sabana de Bogotá. / Determinación del numero optimo de trampas para la evaluación del minador del crisantemo Liriomyza trifolii Burgess bajo invernadero. / Dispersión de la población de Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval y respuesta a la aplicación de tres acaricidas en una plantación comercial de clavel miniatura, durante épocas seca y lluviosa. / ...