Dinoflagellate Cysts as Indicators of Cultural Eutrophication in the Oslofjord, Norway

Dinoflagellate cyst records were analysed from four sediment cores from the inner Oslofjord. The cores covered the pre-industrial period, and the most important period of human population growth associated with industrial development of the region, from the mid-1800s to the present, including the reported development of cultural eutrophication. Comparisons between the cyst records and the known history of eutrophication suggest cyst signals that should prove useful for tracing the development of eutrophication. The eutrophication signal consisted of a doubling of total cyst concentration, and a marked increase in one species in particular,Lingulodinium machaerophorum(from <5 to around 50% of the assemblages) with increased eutrophication. In the core considered most representative of general water quality in the inner fjord, these trends reversed back to pre-industrial levels during the 1980s and 1990s when improved sewage treatment took effect.

Morphological Adaptations to Drought and Reproductive Strategy of the Moss Syntrichia caninervis in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

The biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China, feature moss-dominated BSCs, which play an indispensable role in sand fixation. Syntrichia caninervis Mitt. (S. caninervis) serves as one of the most common species in BSCs in the desert. In this study we examined the morphological structure of S. caninervis from leafy gametophyte to protonema using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the relationships between the morphological structure of S. caninervis and environmental factors. We found that: (1) this moss species is commonly tufted on the sand surface, and its leaves are folded upwards and twisted around the stem under dry conditions; (2) the cells on both upper and lower leaf surfaces have C-shaped dark papillae, which may reflect sunlight to reduce the damage from high temperature; (3) the leaf costa is excurrent, forming an awn with forked teeth; and (4) the protonema cells are small and thickset with thick cell walls and the cytoplasm is highly concentrated with a small vacuole. In addition, we also found that the protonema cells always form pouches on the tip of the mother cells during the process of cell polarization. Our results suggest that S. caninervis has, through its life cycle, several morphological and structural characteristics to adapt to dry environmental conditions. These morphological features of S. caninervis may also be found in other deserts in the world due to the world-wide distribution of the species.