Data compilation on the biological response to ocean acidification: environmental and experimental context of data sets and related literature

The exponential growth of studies on the biological response to ocean acidification over the last few decades has generated a large amount of data. To facilitate data comparison, a data compilation hosted at the data publisher PANGAEA was initiated in 2008 and is updated on a regular basis (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.149999). By January 2015, a total of 581 data sets (over 4 000 000 data points) from 539 papers had been archived. Here we present the developments of this data compilation five years since its first description by Nisumaa et al. (2010). Most of study sites from which data archived are still in the Northern Hemisphere and the number of archived data from studies from the Southern Hemisphere and polar oceans are still relatively low. Data from 60 studies that investigated the response of a mix of organisms or natural communities were all added after 2010, indicating a welcomed shift from the study of individual organisms to communities and ecosystems. The initial imbalance of considerably more data archived on calcification and primary production than on other processes has improved. There is also a clear tendency towards more data archived from multifactorial studies after 2010. For easier and more effective access to ocean acidification data, the ocean acidification community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the data archiving effort, and help develop standard vocabularies describing the variables and define best practices for archiving ocean acidification data.

Follow-up of the sponge and asteroid populations at the station Larsen A south (PS69/724-1 and PS77/253-1), Antarctic Peninsula, between 2007 and 2011

Over 30% of the Antarctic continental shelf is permanently covered by floating ice shelves, providing aphotic conditions for a depauperate fauna sustained by laterally advected food. In much of the remaining Antarctic shallows (<300 m depth), seasonal sea-ice melting allows a patchy primary production supporting rich megabenthic communities dominated by glass sponges (Porifera, Hexactinellida). The catastrophic collapse of ice shelves due to rapid regional warming along the Antarctic Peninsula in recent decades has exposed over 23,000 km**2 of seafloor to local primary production. The response of the benthos to this unprecedented flux of food is, however, still unknown. In 2007, 12 years after disintegration of the Larsen A ice shelf, a first biological survey interpreted the presence of hexactinellids as remnants of a former under-ice fauna with deep-sea characteristics. Four years later, we revisited the original transect, finding 2- and 3-fold increases in glass sponge biomass and abundance, respectively, after only two favorable growth periods. Our findings, along with other long-term studies, suggest that Antarctic hexactinellids, locked in arrested growth for decades, may undergo boom-and-bust cycles, allowing them to quickly colonize new habitats. The cues triggering growth and reproduction in Antarctic glass sponges remain enigmatic.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification in the tropical urchin Echinometra viridis in a laboratory experiment

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) has risen from approximately 280 to 400 ppm since the Industrial Revolution, due mainly to the combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and cement production. It is predicted to reach as high as 900 ppm by the end of this century. Ocean acidification resulting from the release of anthropogenic CO2 has been shown to impair the ability of some marine calcifiers to build their shells and skeletons. Here, we present the results of ocean acidification experiments designed to assess the effects of an increase in atmospheric pCO2 from ca. 448 to 827 ppm on calcification rates of the tropical urchin Echinometra viridis. Experiments were conducted under the urchin's winter (20 °C) and summer (30 °C) water temperatures in order to identify seasonal differences in the urchin's response to ocean acidification. The experiments reveal that calcification rates decreased for urchins reared under elevated pCO2, with the decline being more pronounced under wintertime temperatures than under summertime temperatures. These results indicate that the urchin E. viridis will be negatively impacted by CO2-induced ocean acidification that is predicted to occur by the end of this century. These results also suggest that impact of CO2-induced ocean acidification on urchin calcification will be more severe in the winter and in cooler waters.

(Table 2) Zn/Si ratios for sponge spicules from sediment core samples

The zinc concentration of siliceous sponge spicules was determined from spicules recovered from four sediment cores spanning the last 160 kyr, from the Campbell Plateau region southeast of New Zealand. Zinc/Si results showed little difference between Holocene and glacial aged spicules. An increase in Zn/Si was observed for core Y14, where Zn/Si peaked at about 0.6 ?mol/mol during marine isotope stages 5a-5b. To better understand the role carbon export has on sponge Zn/Si, we explored the strong relationship observed between surficial sediment particulate organic carbon (POC) and the Zn/Si of sponge silica and related this to sediment trap POC flux estimates. Conversion of the Zn/Si records to benthic POC fluxes suggests that there has been little change in the amount of POC reaching Campbell Plateau sediments over the past 30 kyr. These results suggest that surface productivity over the Campbell Plateau has remained relatively low over the past 160 kyr and suggests that glacial productivity was not significantly higher than the present day. Finally, this work reveals that living marine sponges appear to act as the biological equivalents of moored sediment traps, recording the flux of POC to the seafloor by archiving zinc associated with sinking POC in the growing silica skeleton.

Distribution of microorganisms in recent sediments of Kiel Bay

Die angewandte Mikropaläontologie bestimmt heute im wesentlichen das Alter eines Gesteins mit Hilfe von Faunenvergesellschaftungen. Aus der Zusammensetzung der Fauna, aus dem Einsatz oder Fehlen bestimmter Gattungen und Arten, aus den Mineralien, die das Gestein aufbauen, aus dem ganzen Bild, das eine aus einem Gestein herausgeschlämmte Fauna dem Bearbeiter gibt, läßt sich das Alter dieses Gesteins festlegen. Will man aber verschiedene Bohrungen, vor allem auch räumlich weit voneinander getrennter Gebiete, miteinander parallelisieren, so liegt das Kernproblem der Mikropaläontologie in der Frage, ob es sich bei verschiedenen Faunen tatsächlich um Alters- oder nur um Faziesunterschiede handelt. Da die Grundlagen der mikropaläontologischen Arbeitsweise zum weitaus größten Teil auf den Ergebnissen von Untersuchungen fossiler Faunen beruhen, müssen zu ihrer Unterbauung Untersuchungen an recentem Material folgen. Besonders spielt das Ineinandergreifen mariner und brackischer Sedimente in der angewandten Mikropaläontologie eine große Rolle. Auf Grund der Tatsache, daß ein großer Teil von Gattungen und Arten der Foraminiferen an der Wende Kreide/Tertiär ausstirbt und neue an ihre Stelle treten, stellt Glässner (1948) die Behauptung auf, daß die aktualistisch gewonnenen Ergebnisse für vortertiäre Faunen nur eine geringe Bedeutung besitzen. Auch seien vortertiäre, brackische Foraminiferen nicht bekannt (Glässner 1948, S. 191). Hiltermann (1948) konnte aber bereits im nordwestdeutschen Malm brackische, d. h. in Brackwasser eindringende Foraminiferen nachweisen. Auf jeden Fall behalten aktualistische Unterlagen ihren Wert für das Tertiär und Quartär. Die Faunen, die in recenten, brackischen Sedimenten nebeneinander auftreten, sind in einem Bohrprofil in einem Gestein übereinander zu erwarten. Gelingt es, die Beziehungen einer recenten Fauna zu ihrer Umwelt zu klären, dann können umgekehrt aus fossilen, ihnen gleichen oder ähnlichen Faunen Rückschlüsse auf die Entstehungsbedingungen von Gesteinen gezogen werden. Unter Umständen können der Verlauf einer Transgression, Küstennähe, die Höhe des Salzgehaltes des Meerwassers, die vorherrschenden Temperaturen u. a., aus ihnen abgelesen werden. Die Ostsee ist ein klassisches Brackwassergebiet der Erde. Ihr westlicher Teil, die Kieler Bucht, wurde erst in jüngster geologischer Zeit vom Meer überflutet. Nach Tapfer (1940) begann hier die flandrische Transgression erst etwa um 7500 v. d. Zw. mit dem Erreichen des heutigen Meeresniveaus. Seit dieser Zeit erst entstehen neue Küstenformen, wird der Meeresboden umgelagert und bilden sich marine und brackische Absätze in diesem Gebiet.

Asian green mussels (Perna viridis) transplanted between Jakarta Bay and Lada Bay, West Java, Indonesia (April 2012 - November 2013)

The Asian green mussel Perna viridis is tolerant to environmental stress, but its robustness varies between populations from habitats that differ in quality. So far, it is unclear whether local adaptations through stressinduced selection or phenotypic plasticity are responsible for these inter-population differences. We tested for the relevance of both mechanisms by comparing survival under hypoxia in mussels that were transplanted from an anthropogenically impacted (Jakarta Bay, Indonesia) to a natural habitat (Lada Bay, Indonesia) and vice versa. Mussels were retrieved 8 weeks after transplantation and exposed to hypoxia in the laboratory. Additional hypoxia tests were conducted with juvenile mussels collected directly from both sites. To elucidate possible relationships between habitat quality and mussel tolerance, we monitored concentrations of inorganic nutrients, temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, phytoplankton density and the mussels' body condition index (BCI) for 20 months before, during and after the experiments. Survival under hypoxia depended mainly on the quality of the habitat where the mussels lived before the hypoxia tests and only to a small degree on their site of origin. Furthermore, stress tolerance was only higher in Jakarta than in Lada Bay mussels when the BCIs were substantially higher, which in turn correlated with the phytoplankton densities. We explain why phenotypic plasticity and high BCIs are more likely the causes of populationspecific differences in hypoxia tolerance in P. viridis than stress-induced selection for robust genotypes. This is relevant to understanding the role of P. viridis as mariculture organism in eutrophic ecosystems and invasive species in the (sub)tropical world.

Natural high pCO2 increases autotrophy in Anemonia viridis (Anthozoa) as revealed from stable isotope (C, N) analysis

Contemporary cnidarian-algae symbioses are challenged by increasing CO2 concentrations (ocean warming and acidification) affecting organisms' biological performance. We examined the natural variability of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the symbiotic sea anemone Anemonia viridis to investigate dietary shifts (autotrophy/heterotrophy) along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy. delta 13C values for both algal symbionts (Symbiodinium) and host tissue of A. viridis became significantly lighter with increasing seawater pCO2. Together with a decrease in the difference between delta 13C values of both fractions at the higher pCO2 sites, these results indicate there is a greater net autotrophic input to the A. viridis carbon budget under high pCO2 conditions. delta 15N values and C/N ratios did not change in Symbiodinium and host tissue along the pCO2 gradient. Additional physiological parameters revealed anemone protein and Symbiodinium chlorophyll a remained unaltered among sites. Symbiodinium density was similar among sites yet their mitotic index increased in anemones under elevated pCO2. Overall, our findings show that A. viridis is characterized by a higher autotrophic/heterotrophic ratio as pCO2 increases. The unique trophic flexibility of this species may give it a competitive advantage and enable its potential acclimation and ecological success in the future under increased ocean acidification.

Nuevos datos sobre la distribución de Bufo viridis Laurenti, 1786, en el noroeste de África.

[ES] Se indica la presencia de Bufo viridis en los territorios del Sáhara Occidental, unos 400 km al Sureste del área de distribución conocida para la especie.

Antibacterial activity of the marine sponge Ircinia Campana collected at Punta Uva Limón against Staphylococcus Aureus

The sponges are simple multicellularorganisms; they inhabit in marine environments from the polar seas to the tropical waterswhere they are more abundant. These species are exposed to large populations of microbes, reason that explains their complex morphological and cellular defense mechanism, which are used by these organisms to fight against pathogens. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the marine sponge Ircinia campana, whichinhabits in the south of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica against  Sthapylococcus aureus gram-positive bacteria. Sampleswere collected in Punta Uva in Limónduring July of 2007. The active compounds were obtainedby extraction with acetone (crude extract); and subsequently, chromatographic extracts were obtained using fractions 1:4 hexane: ethyl acetate. The antibacterial activities of the different fractions, including the  crude extract were tested.Our results suggest a zone of inhibition of 14.60 ±0.25 mm for the crude extract and18.70±0.25mm for the most active fraction separated by chromatography. The metabolite responsible for the antibacterial activity was isolated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)and preliminarily characterized through ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy.

The syntheses of the marine metabolites 3-bromoverongiaquinol and 5-monobromocavernicolin

An efficient synthesis of the marine metabolite 3-bromoverongiaquinol (1) and the first total synthesis of 5-monobromocavernicolin (2), both isolated from the marine sponge Aplysina cavernicola, have been described based on the 1,2 addition of the lithium enolate of N,O-bistrimethylsilylacetamide (BSA, 4) to 1,4-benzoquinone (3). Bromination and purification of the crude product on silica gel chromatography provided 3-bromoverongiaquinol (1) in 50% overall yield. Under alkaline conditions, the crude product of the bromination reaction was converted to 5-monobromocavernicolin (2) in 20% yield which was also obtained in 13% yield (25% yield based on recovered starting material) from 3-bromoverongiaquinol (1).

Metabólitos secundários das esponjas Aplysina fistularis e Dysidea sp. e atividade antituberculose da 11-cetofistularina-3

The present investigation reports the isolation of aeroplysinin-2, 2-(3,5-dibromo-4-methoxyphenyl)-N,N,N-trimethyletanamonium, 7,9-dibromo-10-hydroxy-8-methoxy-1-oxa-2-azaspiro[4.5]deca-2,6,8-trien-3-carboxylic acid and its methyl ester, 11-oxoaerothionin, aerothionin, 11-keto-12-hydroxyaerothionin, 11-ketofistularin-3 and fistularin-3 from Aplysina fistularis, as well as of furodysinin lactone and 9α,11α-epoxicholest-7-en-3β,5α,6α,10-tetrol-6-acetate from Dysidea sp. Although the extracts of both sponges displayed antituberculosis activity, only 11-ketofistularin-3 isolated from A. fistularis displayed antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H34Rv, with MIC at 16 μg/mL and SI of 40, a result that reinforce that fistularin-3 derivatives are interesting leads for the development of antituberculosis drugs.

Contribuição para o estudo dos Rhinotragini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae): I. mudança de status nos subgêneros de Ommata white, 1855 e revisão de Agaone Pascoe, 1859

Todos os subgêneros de Ommata são elevados a gênero, levando-se em consideração a diversidade de caracteres encontrados em cada um deles. Agaone é revisto e uma nova espécie é descrita do Brasil (Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro): A. punctilla sp. nov. Cantharoxylymna Linsley, 1934 é considerado sinônimo junior de Agaone. Grupiara gen. nov. é descrito para alocar Ommata (Agaone) viridis Gounelle, 1911.

Morphological features and vascularization study of caprine cyclic corpus luteum

Corpus luteum is a temporary endocrine gland that regulates either the estrous cycle and pregnancy. It presents extreme dependency on the adequate blood supply. This work aims to evaluate goat corpus luteum (CL) vascular density (VD) over the estrous cycle. For that purpose, 20 females were submitted to estrus synchronization/ovulation treatment using a medroxyprogesterone intra-vaginal sponge as well as intramuscular (IM) application of cloprostenol and equine chorionic gonadotrophine (eCG). After sponge removal, estrus was identified at about 72hs. Once treatment was over, female goats were then subdivided into 4 groups (n=5 each) and slaughtered on days 2, 12, 16 and 22 after ovulation (p.o). Ovaries were collected, withdrawn and weighted. CL and ovaries had size and area recorded. Blood samples were collected and the plasma progesterone (P4) was measured through RIA commercial kits. The VD was 24.42±6.66, 36.26±5.61, 8.59±2.2 and 3.97±1.12 vessels/mm² for days 2, 12, 16 and 22 p.o, respectively. Progesterone plasma concentrations were 0.49±0.08, 2.63±0.66, 0.61±0.14 and 0.22±0.04ng/ml for days 2, 12, 16 e 22 p.o, respectively. Studied parameters were affected by the estrous cycle phase. Values greater than 12 p.o were observed. In the present work we observed that ovulation occurred predominantly in the right ovary (70% of the animals), which in turn presented bigger measures than the contra lateral one. There is a meaningful relationship between the weight and size of the ovary and these of CL (r=0.87, r=0.70, respectively, p<0.05). It is possible to conclude that morphology of goat's ovaries and plasma progesterone concentration changed according to estrous cycle stages. We propose these parameters can be used as indicators of CL functional activity.