La végétation terrestre des collines de Cauda (Nhatrang)

The comparative study of the vegetation of the hills of Cauda, in their unprotected and protected parts shows that on the unprotected part the vegetation is of the maquis type with the absence of the arborescent stratum and the shrub stratum is often spiny. On the contrary the protected part presents a development of the arborescent stratum; but the floristic composition of the two parts is not very different many species are identical. The evolution towards the climax seems slow on these rhyolite hills with the semi-protection.

Faune malacologique terrestre des Iles Paracels

The author presents a study on the land shells of the Paracel Islands, group of islands, reefs, banks and other maritime features in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group. It is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of China and Vietnam.

Propagation des ondes longitudinales dans le noyau terrestre d'après les séismes profonde des Iles Fidji

Observations from three deep focus earthquakes, of focal depth 600 km, originating in the Fiji Islands region, have permitted to trace the travel-time curves for the longitudinal waves travelling through the earth's core. Of principal importance is the travel-time table for the phase PKP1 which has been given upto 158° and for which the data so far were incomplete. Other important phases observed between 103 and 143° have been illustrated and their travel-time curves drawn.

Une estimation de l'épaisseur de la croute terrestre au-dessous de la Mer de Chine

Study on the dispersion of Rayleigh waves across the China Sea in 1964 has given following conclusions: - Thickness of the crust below the Sea could be varied from 12 to 15 km according to the area. -There would be a slight diminution of the thickness when the Sea depth becomes deeper. - Central part of the Sea very probably belongs to the regional character no. 3 of Santo. The present work is known as the first which estimates particularly the thickness of the crust below the China Sea.

Propagation des ondes longitudinales dans le noyau terrestre: résumé et conclusion

Six earthquakes (magnitude 6 to 7) in the Fiji Islands, New Hebrides and Sulawesi, divided in two groups of depth h=100 to 200 km and h= 600 km, were studied through more than a thousand of seismographic observations in 16 months.

El Herbario: significado, valor y uso.

En la historia de la vida sobre la Tierra, el capítulo que trata sobre el almacenamiento y conservación de las plantas se escribe en los dominios del herbario. El herbario posee los ejemplares que documentan la exploración del hombre sobre la superficie terrestre, de manera que no sólo existe el documento escrito que narra la historia del explorador sino que tenemos el privilegio de tocar esos objetos o especímenes. Así, cada herbario en el mundo posee un tesoro escondido de especímenes históricos que son el fiel testigo de las hazañas de un investigador o de una exploración a algún lugar remoto. En las últimas dos décadas el medio en el que se desarrollan los herbarios y sus colecciones han subrido cambios muy significativos, los que a su vez han ejercido presiones sobre quienes manejan las colecciones. Algunos de estos cambios son la disminución de los aportes económicos a los herbarios, el cambio en el uso de la evidencia morfológica hacia la molecular en los estudios sistemáticos y la pérdida acelerada de la biodiversidad que trae aparejada la necesidad urgente de realizar inventarios florísticos. En una era de extinción de biotas, las colecciones valiosas como son hoy día, serán aún más valiosas en los años por venir. Las colecciones representan el testigo imprescindible para la ciencia y el vehículo para llegar a las posibles soluciones. Es por ello que el conocimiento del significado, valor y uso del herbario y sus colecciones reviste una vital importancia para la ciencia y para la sociedad.

Studies of physical, chemical, and biological oceanography in the vicinity of the Revilla Gigedo Islands during the “Island Current Survey” of 1957

ENGLISH: The tendency of the tunas, especially the yellowfin (Neothunnus macropterus) to be more abundant in the near vicinity of islands and seamounts, or "banks", than in the surrounding oceanic areas, is well known to commercial fishermen. This has been confirmed by statistical analysis of fishing vessel logbook records, which demonstrates that the catch-per-day's-fishing is, indeed, higher in the near vicinity of these features. It is hypothesized that islands and seamounts cause changes in the physical circulation or the biochemical cycle resulting in greater supplies of food for tunas in their immediate environs. In order to examine this hypothesis, and in order to study possible mechanisms involved, the "Island Current Survey" was undertaken from 8 May to 12 June, 1957, under the joint auspices of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Surveys of varying nature and extent were made from M/V Spencer F. Baird near Alijos Rocks, Clarion Island, Shimada Bank and Socorro Island (Figure 1). These studies sought to provide knowledge of the action of islands and seamounts in arresting, stalling or deflecting the mean current past them, in establishing convergence and divergence in the surface flow, in producing vertical motion (mixing and upwelling), and in influencing the primary production and the standing crops of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Each survey is discussed below in detail. Observations made at a front on 10 June will be discussed in another paper. SPANISH: Los pescadores que realizan la pesca comercial conocen muy bien la tendencia de los atunes, en particular del atún aleta amarilla (Neothunnus macropterus), de presentarse en mayor abundancia en las cercanías inmediatas a las islas y cimas submarinas, o "bancos", que en las áreas oceánicas circundantes. Este hecho ha sido confirmado par el análisis estadístico de los registros de los cuadernos de bitácora de las embarcaciones pesqueras, demostrándose que la captura par dias de pesca es, en efecto, más abundante en la inmediata proximidad de tales formaciones. Hipotéticamente se admite que las islas y las cimas submarinas provocan cambios en la circulación física o en el ciclo bioquímico, lo cual se pone de manifiesto a través de un mejor abastecimiento de alimento para los atunes en sus cercanías inmediatas. Con la finalidad de verificar esta hipótesis y de estudiar los mecanismos que ella involucra, se realizó la “Island Current Survey” del 8 de mayo al 12 de junio de 1957, bajo los auspicios de la Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical y de la Institución Scripps de Oceanografia. Con el barco Spencer F. Baird se hicieron observaciones de distintas clases y alcances cerca de las Rocas Alijos, la Isla Clarion, el Banco Shimada y la Isla Socorro (Figura 1). Estos estudios tuvieron por objeto adquirir conocimientos sobre la acción que ejercen las islas y cimas submarinas sobre la corriente promedio, ya sea deteniéndola, reduciendo su velocidad o desviando su curso, así como estableciendo convergencia o divergencia en su flujo de superficie, o provocando un movimiento vertical (mezcla y afloramiento) e influyendo en la producción primaria y en las existencias de fitoplancton y zooplancton. Cada operación será tratada a continuación por separado. Las observaciones hechas el dia 10 de junio sobre un frente serán objeto de otra publicación.

Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii: Integration of NOAA Digital Benthic Habitat Mapping and Coral Reef Ecological Studies

Over the past four decades, the state of Hawaii has developed a system of eleven Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs) to conserve and replenish marine resources around the state. Initially established to provide opportunities for public interaction with the marine environment, these MLCDs vary in size, habitat quality, and management regimes, providing an excellent opportunity to test hypotheses concerning marine protected area (MPA) design and function using multiple discreet sampling units. NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Team developed digital benthic habitat maps for all MLCD and adjacent habitats. These maps were used to evaluate the efficacy of existing MLCDs for biodiversity conservation and fisheries replenishment, using a spatially explicit stratified random sampling design. Coupling the distribution of habitats and species habitat affinities using GIS technology elucidates species habitat utilization patterns at scales that are commensurate with ecosystem processes and is useful in defining essential fish habitat and biologically relevant boundaries for MPAs. Analysis of benthic cover validated the a priori classification of habitat types and provided justification for using these habitat strata to conduct stratified random sampling and analyses of fish habitat utilization patterns. Results showed that the abundance and distribution of species and assemblages exhibited strong correlations with habitat types. Fish assemblages in the colonized and uncolonized hardbottom habitats were found to be most similar among all of the habitat types. Much of the macroalgae habitat sampled was macroalgae growing on hard substrate, and as a result showed similarities with the other hardbottom assemblages. The fish assemblages in the sand habitats were highly variable but distinct from the other habitat types. Management regime also played an important role in the abundance and distribution of fish assemblages. MLCDs had higher values for most fish assemblage characteristics (e.g. biomass, size, diversity) compared with adjacent fished areas and Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) across all habitat types. In addition, apex predators and other targeted resources species were more abundant and larger in the MLCDs, illustrating the effectiveness of these closures in conserving fish populations. Habitat complexity, quality, size and level of protection from fishing were important determinates of MLCD effectiveness with respect to their associated fish assemblages. (PDF contains 217 pages)

“El Niño” study based on analysis of ocean surface temperatures 1935-57

ENGLISH: The following report describes the findings of an "El Niño" project carried out at the Department of Meteorology of the University of California, Los Angeles, at the request of, and with funds provided from, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. The project was, in its early stages, supervised by Professor M. Neiburger, but was in June 1959 transferred to Professor J. Bjerknes, who thereby became the sole author of this final report. Readers who may be interested in the general background of knowledge of the maritime meteorology of the Eastern Pacific are herewith referred to Professor Neiburger's final report of the "Subtropical Pacific Meteorology Project." That report, submitted in September 1958 to the Office of Naval Research, summarizes the results of all the meteorological soundings released at sea since 1949 from California in the north to Peru in the south. The soundings off Ecuador and Peru were all taken by the "Shellback" expedition during July 1952. Important as this first exploration of the atmosphere over the Eastern Equatorial Pacific was, it did not even begin to explore " El Niño " itself, which is confined to the southern summer season and, moreover, only reaches catastrophic proportions in a few exceptional years. SPANISH: Este estudio da a conocer los resultados de una investigación que, bajo el nombre de Proyecto "El Niño", ha sido efectuada en el Departamento de Meteorología de la Universidad de California, Los Angeles, a solicitud de la Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical y con fondos provistos por ésta. En sus primeras etapas, el proyecto fué supervisado por el Profesor M. Neiburger, pero en junio de 1959 fué transferido al Profesor J. Bjerknes, quien de este modo vino a ser el solo autor de este informe final. A los lectores interesados en los conocimientos de fondo de la meteorología marítima del Pacífico Oriental se les recomienda consultar el informe final del Profesor Neiburger intitulado "Subtropical Pacific Meteorology Project". Este informe, sometido a la "Office of Naval Research" en septiembre de 1958 sumariza los resultados de todos los sondeos meteorológicos efectuados en el mar desde 1949 en el área entre California en el norte y Perú en el sur. Todos los sondeos frente al Ecuador y el Perú fueron hechos por la Expedición "Shellback" durante el mes de julio de 1952. Importante como fué esta primera exploración de la atmósfera sobre el Pacífico Ecuatorial del Este, ni siquiera comenzó a explorar "El Niño" en sí, que se confina a la estación de verano en el sur y, más aún, sólo alcanza proporciones catastróficas en unos pocos años excepcionales.

Muscle glycogen and blood lactate in yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, and skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis, following capture and tagging

ENGLISH: Tagging and the recovery of tagged yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) tunas are important aspects of the investigations conducted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. The results of the tagging program provide information on population structures, migrations, mortality rates and growth rates of these two species. The present experimental program was undertaken to study the relationship between muscular fatigue and high tagging mortalities in yellowfin and skipjack. SPANISH: La marcación del atún aleta amarilla (Thunnus albacares) y del barrilete (Katsuwonus pelamis), y el recobro de estos atunes marcados, son aspectos importantes de la investigación que efectúa la Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical en el Océano Pacífico Oriental Tropical. Los resultados del programa de marcación proporcionan información sobre la estructura de las poblaciones, migraciones, tasas de mortalidad y tasas de crecimiento de estas dos especies. El programa experimental presente fue emprendido para estudiar la relación entre la fatiga muscular y la alta mortalidad causada por la marcación en el atún aleta amarilla y el barrilete. (PDF contains 52 pages.)

A statistical investigation of fish prices in Nigeria

The main objective of this study is to describe and characterize the behaviour of fish prices in Nigeria. Drawing upon aspects of the data from a nationwide fish survey in 1980/81 and on various secondary data, the study analyses the pattern of fish price movement and makes projections of fish prices in Nigeria till 2002 A.D. It is concluded that unless efforts are directed at stemming inflation in fish prices, prices paid by fish consumers in Nigeria will be more than doubled within the next two decades

Age and growth of Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes: Mugilidae) in Bonny Estuary

The age and growth of Mugil cephalus was investigated in Bonny Estuary, Nigeria, from January, 1995 to December, 1996. Length-weight relationships were isometric with length exponents of 2.84 (males), 2.90 (females) and 2.88 (overall). Modal length at age were 12.0cm, 20.9cm, 25.0cm, 28.4cm and 30.2cm TL for ages 0+, 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+ respectively. Corresponding total weights were 20.01g, 78.93g, 173.12g, 217.61g and 247.50g, respectively. Asymptotic length (Lo) was estimated 33.2cm TL, asymptotic weight (W sub(o)) was 484g, growth coefficient K=0.55847 super(-1) and hypothetical age at zero length To = 0.152yr. Longevity, Tmax, was 5.0yr, length and weight growth performance indices were Q super(1)=2.79 and Q = 1.44, respectively. Total mortality, natural mortality and fishing mortality were z = 1.02yr super(-1), M=0.607yr super(-1) and F=O. 3129yr super(-1), respectively. The exploitation ratio E was 0.4048 and exploitation rate U = 0.2302yr super(-1)

Effect of different feeding levels on the production of Heterobranchus bidorsalis in outdoor concrete tanks

Fry of Heterobranchus bidorsalis (mean weight, 0.03g) were fed at 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50% of their body weight (bw)/day in outdoor concrete tanks in New Bussa, Nigeria. The fry attained the highest average weight of 6.66g in 10 weeks when fed at 40% bw/day. Feed conversion ratio ranged from 2.13 to 9.65, the protein efficiency ratio from 1.33 to 5.93. Results indicated that H. bidorsalis are efficient feed converters. Feed intake was significantly different (p<0.05) between the treatments, specific growth rate (SGR), daily growth rate (DGR), production and average weight gain indicated that 40% of fish biomass was the optimum feeding level

The ionic composition of surface waters in the English Lake District, related to bedrock geology, with some singular facts and speculation on the existence of mineral-rich groundwaters

This article is based on a survey of tarns conducted mainly in the summers of 1983 to 1985, plus a survey made in the winter of 1985, in which streams were sampled on the wide variety of rock-types occurring on the fringes of the Lake District. Differences in composition of major ions and their concentrations in the surface waters of Cumbria reflect the complex geological structure of the region. At altitudes above 300 m, on Borrowdale Volcanics and Skiddaw Slates, surface waters are derived from atmospheric precipitation, with additional inputs of some ions - especially calcium and bicarbonate - from catchment rocks and soils. In some of the low-lying large lakes on the fringes of the central fells, water composition is also dominated by inputs from upper catchments; examples are Wastwater, Ullswater and Haweswater. However in other lakes there is evidence (Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake) of inputs from saline groundwater.

Summary and concluding remarks

This chapter summarises the meeting, entitled ”Eutrophication: Research and Application to Water Supply”. The general feeling was that academic research on the process of eutrophication had progressed significantly over the past decade, but there had been little contact with the water managers, i.e. those whose work was at the sharp end of dealing with the associated problems. This chapter summarises the sessions held by experts in the field.