(Table 1) Carbohydrates, free sugars, and acid-extractable sugar at DSDP Leg 64 Holes

We analyzed 10 core samples of Pleistocene and Pliocene sediment for residual carbohydrates. All yielded positive results for total carbohydrates and acid-extractable glucose. We also detected galactose, mannose, arabinose, xylose, and traces of ribose and fucose in the Pleistocene samples. In the Pliocene samples we found only rare mannose. Only one Pleistocene sample yielded measurable cellulose and amylose.

Antarctic free-air and complete Bouguer gravity anomaly grid

Gravity surveying is challenging in Antarctica because of its hostile environment and inaccessibility. Nevertheless, many ground-based, airborne and shipborne gravity campaigns have been completed by the geophysical and geodetic communities since the 1980s. We present the first modern Antarctic-wide gravity data compilation derived from 13 million data points covering an area of 10 million km**2, which corresponds to 73% coverage of the continent. The remove-compute-restore technique was applied for gridding, which facilitated levelling of the different gravity datasets with respect to an Earth Gravity Model derived from satellite data alone. The resulting free-air and Bouguer gravity anomaly grids of 10 km resolution are publicly available. These grids will enable new high-resolution combined Earth Gravity Models to be derived and represent a major step forward towards solving the geodetic polar data gap problem. They provide a new tool to investigate continental-scale lithospheric structure and geological evolution of Antarctica.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and brown dottyback (Pseudochromis fuscus) movement and feeding behaviour during experiments, 2011

Changes in olfactory-mediated behaviour caused by elevated CO2 levels in the ocean could affect recruitment to reef fish populations because larval fish become more vulnerable to predation. However, it is currently unclear how elevated CO2 will impact the other key part of the predator-prey interaction - the predators. We investigated the effects of elevated CO2 and reduced pH on olfactory preferences, activity levels and feeding behaviour of a common coral reef meso-predator, the brown dottyback (Pseudochromis fuscus). Predators were exposed to either current-day CO2 levels or one of two elevated CO2 levels (~600 µatm or ~950 µatm) that may occur by 2100 according to climate change predictions. Exposure to elevated CO2 and reduced pH caused a shift from preference to avoidance of the smell of injured prey, with CO2treated predators spending approximately 20% less time in a water stream containing prey odour compared with controls. Furthermore, activity levels of fish was higher in the high CO2 treatment and feeding activity was lower for fish in the mid CO2treatment; indicating that future conditions may potentially reduce the ability of the fish to respond rapidly to fluctuations in food availability. Elevated activity levels of predators in the high CO2 treatment, however, may compensate for reduced olfactory ability, as greater movement facilitated visual detection of food. Our findings show that, at least for the species tested to date, both parties in the predator-prey relationship may be affected by ocean acidification. Although impairment of olfactory-mediated behaviour of predators might reduce the risk of predation for larval fishes, the magnitude of the observed effects of elevated CO2 acidification appear to be more dramatic for prey compared to predators. Thus, it is unlikely that the altered behaviour of predators is sufficient to fully compensate for the effects of ocean acidification on prey mortality.

Isotopic composition of diet and tissues, and isotope discrimination factors for pink-footed and barnacle geese, Svalbard

Breeding in the high Arctic is time constrained and animals should therefore start with their annual reproduction as early as possible. To allow for such early reproduction in migratory birds, females arrive at the breeding grounds either with body stores or they try to rapidly develop their eggs after arrival using local resources. Svalbard breeding barnacle geese Branta leucopsis have to fly non-stop for about 1100 km from their last continental staging site to the archipelago making the transport of body stores costly. However, environmental conditions at the breeding grounds are highly unpredictable favouring residual body stores allowing for egg production after arrival on the breeding grounds. We estimated the reliance on southern continental resources, i.e. body stores for egg formation, in barnacle geese using stable isotope ratios in the geese's forage along the flyway and in their eggs. Females adopted mixed breeding strategies by using southern resources as well as local resources to varying extents for egg formation. Southern capital in lipid-free yolk averaged 41% (range: 23-65%), early laid eggs containing more southern capital than eggs laid late in the season. Yolk lipids and albumen did not vary over time and averaged a southern capital proportion of 54% (range: 32-73%) and 47% (range: 25-88%), respectively. Our findings indicate that female geese vary the use of southern resources when synthesizing their eggs and this allocation also varies among egg tissues. Their mixed and flexible use of distant and local resources potentially allows for adaptive adjustments to environmental conditions encountered at the archipelago just before breeding.