Effects of temperature, hypoxia, ammonia and nitrate on the bleaching among three coral species

Coral bleaching, which is defined as the loss of colour in corals due to the loss of their symbiotic algae (commonly called zooxanthellae) or pigments or both, is occurring globally at increasing rates, and its harm becomes more and more serious during these two decades. The significance of these bleaching events to the health of coral reef ecosystems is extreme, as bleached corals exhibited high mortality, reduced fecundity and productivity and increased susceptibility to diseases. This decreased coral fitness is easily to lead to reef degradation and ultimately to the breakdown of the coral reef ecosystems. Recently, the reasons leading to coral bleaching are thought to be as follows: too high or too low temperature, excess ultraviolet exposure, heavy metal pollution, cyanide poison and seasonal cycle. To date there has been little knowledge of whether mariculture can result in coral bleaching and which substance has the worst effect on corals. And no research was conducted on the effect of hypoxia on corals. To address these questions, effects of temperature, hypoxia, ammonia and nitrate on bleaching of three coral species were studied through examination of morphology and the measurement of the number of symbiotic algae of three coral species Acropora nobilis, Palythoa sp. and Alveopora verrilliana. Results showed that increase in temperature and decrease in dissolved oxygen could lead to increasing number of symbiotic algae and more serious bleaching. In addition, the concentration of 0.001 mmol/L ammonia or nitrate could increase significantly the expulsion of the symbiotic algae of the three coral species. Except for Acropora nobilis, the numbers of symbiotic algae of other two corals did not significantly increase with the increasing concentration of ammonia and nitrate. Furthermore, different hosts have different stress susceptibilities on coral bleaching.

Nonvolatile holograms in LiNbO3 : Fe : Cu by use of the bleaching effect

We report our observation of a bleaching effect under an ultraviolet exposure in LiNbO3:Fe:Cu crystals. Two three-step recording-transferring-fixing schemes are proposed to record nonvolatile photorefractive holograms in such crystals. In the schemes two red laser beams and an ultraviolet illumination are used selectively to write the charge grating in the shallow-level Fe centers, to develop the charge grating in the deep-level Cu centers by transferring the charge grating in the Fe centers, and to fix only the charge grating in the Cu centers for unerasable read-out. Experimental results, verifications, and an optimal recording scheme are given. A comparison of the lithium niobate crystals of the same double-doping system of Fe:Mn, Ce:Mn, Ce:Cu, and Fe:Cu is outlined. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.

Bleaching kinetics of indoly-benzylfulgimide in PMMA

Indoly-benzlfulgimide belongs to the photochromic fulgide family and follows photochemical first order kinetics. Its bleaching kinetics is investigated at 633 nm and 640 nm by spectroscopy, by the time dependence of transmission and of diffraction from holographically induced gratings. The non-exponential decay law resulting for diffraction experiments with a Gaussian beam profile is calculated and verified experimentally. For a quasi-homogeneous beam profile the time constant determined from diffraction decay is half the one for absorbance decay. The photochemical reaction rate of indoly-benzylfulgimide in PMMA is (3.9 +/- 0.3) cm(2)/J at 650 nm. (c) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A novel hydroperoxyl substituted cembranolide diterpene from marine soft coral Lobophytum crassum

A new cembranolide diterpene with a hydroperoxyl substitution was isolated from the marine soft coral Lobophytum crassum. The structure was elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral methods.

Vertical transferring process of rare elements in coral reef lagoons of Nansha Islands, South China Sea

The vertical fluxes and vertical transferring forms of 18 rare elements were studied for the first time in the coral reef ecosystem of Nansha Islands, South China Sea, by deploying sediment traps, The results showed that the vertical transferring flux of most of the measured rare elements in Yongshu lagoon were higher than that in Zhubi lagoon. The vertical transferring forms of rare elements were mainly in the carbonate form, but Ta, As, Th mainly in the ion-exchange form, Ag in iron-manganese oxide form and Sb in the organic matter + sulphide form. None of the 18 rare elements was transferred mainly in the form of detritus silicate to sea floor. This proved that rare elements originating from the earth's crust were redistributed in sinking particulates after they were brought into ocean. The relation between the fluxes and surface seawater temperature (STT) was also studied. The sensitivity of rare elements to SST was in order: Rb>V>As>Ti>U>Zn>Sb>Hf>Ag>Cs.