Global raster maps indicating the habitat suitability for 7 suborders of cold water octocorals (Octocorallia found deeper than 50m)

This dataset consists of global raster maps indicating the habitat suitability for 7 suborders of cold water octocorals (Octocorallia found deeper than 50m). Maps present a relative habitat suitability index ranging from 0 (unsuitable) to 100 (highly suitable). Two maps are provided for each suborder (Alcyoniina, Calcaxonia, Holaxonia, Scleraxonia, Sessiliflorae, Stolonifera, and Subselliflorae). A publicly accessable low resolution map (grid size 10x10 arc-minutes) and a restricted access high resolution map (grid size 30x30 arc-seconds). Maps are geotiff format incorporating LZW compression to reduce file size. Please contact the corresponding author (Chris Yesson) for access to the high resolution data.

Abundance of Cnidaria and Ctenophora in the North Atlantic sampled during the G. O. Sars Cruise in May 2013

In recent years a global increase in jellyfish (i.e. Cnidarians and Ctenophores) abundance and a rise in the recurrence of jellyfish outbreak events have been largely debated, but a general consensus on this matter has not been achieved yet. Within this debate, it has been generally recognized that there is a lack of reliable data that could be analyzed and compared to clarify whether indeed jellyfish are increasing throughout the world ocean as a consequence of anthropogenic impact and hydroclimatic variability. During the G.O. Sars cruise jellyfish were collected at different depths in the 0-1000m layer using a standard 1 m**2 Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS) (quantitative data), Harstad and macroplankton trawls (qualitative data). The comparison of records collected with different nets during the G.O. Sars transatlantic cruise shows that different sampling gears might provide very different information on jellyfish diversity. Indeed, the big trawls mostly collect relatively large scyphozoan and hydrozoan species such as Atolla, Pelagia, Praya, Vogtia, while small hydrozoans (e.g. Clytia, Gilia, Muggiaea) and early stages of ctenophora are only caught by the smaller nets.

Campanian-Maestrichtian planktonic foraminifera of the southern South Atlantic

Campanian-Maestrichtian planktonic foraminifers were examined from Sites 698 (2128 m water depth) and 700 (3611 m water depth) on the Northeast Georgia Rise (southern South Atlantic, 51°S). Site 698 penetrated 72.5 m of Campanian-Maestrichtian chalk and limestone with only 18.2% recovery, whereas Site 700 recovered 66.8% of a 152.7-m section of Coniacian-Maestrichtian limestone. Preservation of planktonic foraminifers from both sites is moderate in Maestrichtian samples, but worsens with increasing depth in the Campanian. The Northeast Georgia Rise planktonic foraminifers are typical of Late Cretaceous Austral Province faunas described from other southern high-latitude sites; species diversity is low and the assemblages are dominated by species of Heterohelix, Globigerinelloides, Hedbergella, and Archaeoglobigerina. Five species, including Globigerinelloides impensus Sliter, Archaeoglobigerina australis Huber, Archaeoglobigerina mateola Huber, Hedbergella sliteri Huber, and Rugotruncana circumnodifer (Finlay), are considered to be endemic to the Austral Province. Formation of a cool temperate water mass in the circum-Antarctic region, resulting from the final breakup of the Gondwana continents, may have led to increased provincialism of the Austral Province planktonic foraminifers during Campanian-Maestrichtian time. Magnetobiostratigraphic correlation of eight planktonic foraminifer datum events at Hole 700B with ages determined for datums at ODP Leg 113 Holes 689B and 690C (Maud Rise, 65°S) demonstrates regional synchroneity of first and last occurrences within the Austral Province. As was observed at the Maud Rise, several keeled and nonkeeled species previously thought to have been restricted to warmer low-latitude regions first occur later at the Northeast Georgia Rise than at the low-latitude sites. The causes for high-latitude diachroneity among these immigrant species are not clear; neither oxygen and carbon isotope data from the Maud Rise sites nor calcareous nannoplankton distributions for the southern South Atlantic region show conspicuous changes that correlate to the delayed first occurrences.

Calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy, nannofossil events and carbon isotopic ratios of ODP Leg 183 sites

Cores from Sites 1135, 1136, and 1138 of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 183 to the Kerguelen Plateau (KP) provide the most complete Paleocene and Eocene sections yet recovered from the southern Indian Ocean. These nannofossil-foraminifer oozes and chalks provide an opportunity to study southern high-latitude biostratigraphic and paleoceanographic events, which is the primary subject of this paper. In addition, a stable isotope profile was established across the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary at Site 1138. An apparently complete K/T boundary was recovered at Site 1138 in terms of assemblage succession, isotopic signature, and reworking of older (Cretaceous) nannofossil taxa. There is a significant color change, a negative carbon isotope shift, and nannofossil turnover. The placement of the boundary based on these criteria, however, is not in agreement with the available shipboard paleomagnetic stratigraphy. We await shore-based paleomagnetic study to confirm or deny those preliminary results. The Paleocene nannofossil assemblage is, in general, characteristic of the high latitudes with abundant Chiasmolithus, Prinsius, and Toweius. Placed in context with other Southern Ocean sites, the biogeography of Hornibrookina indicates the presence of some type of water mass boundary over the KP during the earliest Paleocene. This boundary disappeared by the late Paleocene, however, when there was an influx of warm-water discoasters, sphenoliths, and fasciculiths. This not only indicates that during much of the late Paleocene water temperatures were relatively equable, but preliminary floral and stable isotope analyses also indicate that a relatively complete record of the late Paleocene Thermal Maximum event was recovered at Site 1135. It was only at the beginning of the middle Eocene that water temperatures began to decline and the nannofossil assemblage became dominated by cool-water species while discoaster and sphenolith abundances and diversity were dramatically reduced. One new taxonomic combination is proposed, Heliolithus robustus Arney, Ladner, and Wise.

Major element oxides, trace element content and isotopic ratios of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis

New results on the petrochemistry and geochemistry of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis shed light on the development of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The basalts and dolerites are petrologically identical to the rocks of western Dronning Maud Land (DML), which were previously studied and interpreted as a manifestation of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The spatial distribution of the dikes suggests eastward spreading of the plume material, up to the Schirmacher Oasis for at least 10 Ma. The geochemical characteristics of magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis reflect the influence of crustal contamination, which accompanied both the ascent and spreading of the plume. The magmas of the initial stage of plume activity (western DML) appeared to be the most contaminated in crustal components. It was found that the geochemical characteristics of Mesozoic magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis are identical to those of enriched tholeiites from the Afanasy Nikitin Rise and the central Kerguelen Plateau (Hole 749), which indicates that their enrichment was related to the ancient material of the Gondwana continent. This was caused by the opening of the Indian Ocean under the influence of the Karoo-Maud plume. This process was peculiar in that it occurred in the presence of nonspreading blocks of varying thickness, for instance, Elan Bank in the central Kerguelen Plateau, and was accompanied by the formation of intraplate volcanic rises, which are documented in the seafloor relief of basins around Antarctica. The geochemical characteristics of igneous rocks from the resulting rises (Afanasy Nikitin, Kerguelen, Naturaliste, and Ninetyeast Ridge) indicate the influence of processes related to crustal assimilation. The magmatism that occurred 40 Ma after the main phase of the Karoo-Maud volcanism at the margins of the adjacent continents of Australia (Bunbury basalts) and India (Rajmahal trapps) could be generated by the Karoo-Maud plume flowing along the developing spreading zone. The plume moved subsequently and was localized at the Kerguelen Plateau, where it occurs at present as an active hotspot.

Calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy and datums of sediments from ODP Leg 198 sites

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 198, Sites 1207, 1208, 1212, 1213, and 1214 were drilled on Shatsky Rise, coring Lower to mid-Cretaceous successions of nannofossil chalk, porcellanite, and chert. Although recovery was poor, these sites yielded an outstanding record of calcareous nannoplankton, providing valuable data concerning the evolutionary succession and paleobiogeography of the largest Cretaceous marine habitat. Mid-Cretaceous sections (Aptian-Cenomanian) were recovered at all sites, and Site 1213 includes an apparently complete Berriasian-Hauterivian section. Biostratigraphic dating is problematic in places because of the absence or rarity of zonal fossils of both Boreal and Tethyan affinity. The majority of nannofossil assemblages are relatively typical of this age, but there are clear differences that set them apart from coeval epicontinental assemblages: for example, Lithraphidites carniolensis is common to abundant throughout and was most likely an oceanic-adapted taxon; the cold- to temperate-water species Crucibiscutum salebrosum, Repagulum parvidentatum, and Seribiscutum primitivum are entirely absent, indicating the persistence of tropical, warm surface water temperatures; and the warm-water species Hayesites irregularis is common. Most striking, however, is the virtual absence of Nannoconus and Micrantholithus, both taxa that were conspicuous and often common components of many Tethyan and Atlantic nannofloras. These forms were almost certainly neritic adapted and usually absent in deep open-ocean settings away from guyots and platforms. Other Tethyan taxa are also absent or rare and sporadically distributed (e.g., Calcicalathina oblongata, Conusphaera spp., Tubodiscus verenae, and Lithraphidites bollii), and factors related to neritic environments presumably controlled their distribution. Site 1213 also records extended Early Cretaceous ranges for species previously thought to have become extinct during the Late Jurassic (e.g., Axopodorhabdus cylindratus, Hexapodorhabdus cuvillieri, and Biscutum dorsetensis), suggesting these species became Pacific-restricted prior to their extinction. Watznaueria britannica may also have been a species with Pacific affinities before reexpansion of its biogeography in the early Aptian. One new genus (Mattiolia) and thirteen new species (Zeugrhabdotus clarus, Zeugrhabdotus petrizzoae, Helicolithus leckiei, Rhagodiscus amplus, Rhagodiscus robustus, Rhagodiscus sageri, Rhagodiscus adinfinitus, Tubodiscus bellii, Tubodiscus frankiae, Gartnerago ponticula, Haqius peltatus, Mattiolia furva, and Kokia stellata) are described from the Shatsky Rise Lower Cretaceous section.

Geochemistry and isotopic ratios of samples from the Tiger gabbroic complex, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Subduction related mafic/ultramafic complexes marking the suture between the Wilson Terrane and the Bowers Terrane in northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) are well-suited for evaluating the magmatic and structural evolu- tion at the Palaeo-Pacific continental margin of Gondwana. One of these intru- sions is the "Tiger Gabbro Complex" (TGC), which is located at the southern end of the island-arc type Bowers Terrane. The TGC is an early Palaeozoic island-arc related layered igneous complex characterized by extraordinarly fresh sequences of ultramafic, mafic and evolved lithologies and extensive development of high-temperature high-strain zones. The goal of the present study is to establish the kinematic, petrogenetic and temporal development of the TGC in order to evaluate the magmatic and structural evolution of the deep crustal roots of this Cambrian-aged island-arc. Fieldwork during GANOVEX X was carried out to provide insight into: (i) the spatial relations between the different igneous lithologies of the TGC, (ii) the nature of the contact between the TGC and Bowers Terrane, and (iii) the high-temperature shear zones exposed in parts of the TGC. Here, we report the results of detailed field and petrological observations combined with new geochronological data. Based on these new data, we tentatively propose a petrogenetic-kinematic model for the TGC, which involves a two-phase evolution during the Ross orogeny. These phases can be summarized as: (i) an early phase (maximum age c. 530 Ma) involving tectono-magmatic processes that were active at the deep crustal level represented by the TGC within the Bowers island arc and within a general NE-SW directed contractional regime and (ii) a late phase (maximum age c. 490 Ma) attributed to the late Ross orogenic intrusion of the TGC into the higher-crustal metasedimentary country rocks of the Bowers Terrane under NE-SW directed horizontal maximum stress and subsequent cooling.

Composition of Carnian to Norian sandstones from the Wombat Plateau (Table 1)

The Carnian to Norian sediments, as much as 600 m in total thickness, recovered from ODP Sites 759 and 760 on the Wombat Plateau, are generally represented by fluvial-dominated deltaic successions. In general, the Carnian to Norian sandstones are quartzose. The average ratio of monocrystalline quartz grains, total feldspar grains, and total lithic fragments (i.e., Qm:F:Lt ratio) is 71:22:7. This indicates that they were derived mainly from the transitional continental and cratonic interior provenance terranes, such as the Pilbara Precambrian block to the south of the Wombat Plateau. The upper Carnian sediments, however, are characterized by more feldspathic sandstone petrofacies. They typically contain some volcanic rock fragments with trachytic texture and indicate the onset of the incipient rift-related tectonic movement, such as uplift and subsequent abrupt basin subsidence, together with volcanism in the Gondwana continental block. Mixed siliciclastic and carbonate cycles are typically intercalated in the prodelta to delta front deposits that developed mainly in a lagoon-like, restricted marine environment. The restricted marine environment developed during transgressions as the outflow of shallow water was restricted by depositional barriers. Around the barriers and/or delta lobes, carbonate shoals/banks were probably developed and the allochemical components of the neritic limestones may have been transported into the restricted marine environment by overwash processes and/or storm waves. Siliciclastic detritus, on the other hand, was mainly derived accompanied by delta progradation dominated by fluvial processes in the restricted marine environment. Therefore, we interpret the mixed siliciclastic and carbonate cycles in the deltaic successions to be a result of transgression-regression cycles in a deltaic system during the Late Triassic.

Raster maps for 29 environmental variables in three geographical regions

Aim: Greater understanding of the processes underlying biological invasions is required to determine and predict invasion risk. Two subspecies of olive (Olea europaea subsp. europaea and Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) have been introduced into Australia from the Mediterranean Basin and southern Africa during the 19th century. Our aim was to determine to what extent the native environmental niches of these two olive subspecies explain the current spatial segregation of the subspecies in their non-native range. We also assessed whether niche shifts had occurred in the non-native range, and examined whether invasion was associated with increased or decreased occupancy of niche space in the non-native range relative to the native range. Location: South-eastern Australia, Mediterranean Basin and southern Africa. Methods: Ecological niche models (ENMs) were used to quantify the similarity of native and non-native realized niches. Niche shifts were characterized by the relative contribution of niche expansion, stability and contraction based on the relative occupancy of environmental space by the native and non-native populations. Results: Native ENMs indicated that the spatial segregation of the two subspecies in their non-native range was partly determined by differences in their native niches. However, we found that environmentally suitable niches were less occupied in the non-native range relative to the native range, indicating that niche shifts had occurred through a contraction of the native niches after invasion, for both subspecies. Main conclusions: The mapping of environmental factors associated with niche expansion, stability or contraction allowed us to identify areas of greater invasion risk. This study provides an example of successful invasions that are associated with niche shifts, illustrating that introduced plant species are sometimes readily able to establish in novel environments. In these situations the assumption of niche stasis during invasion, which is implicitly assumed by ENMs, may be unreasonable.

Measurements of gastropods shell sizes from 23 fossil and extant long-lived lakes

Aim: To investigate shell size variation among gastropod faunas of fossil and recent long-lived European lakes and discuss potential underlying processes. Location: 23 long-lived lakes of the Miocene to Recent of Europe. Methods: Based on a dataset of 1412 species of both fossil and extant lacustrine gastropods, we assessed differences in shell size in terms of characteristics of the faunas (species richness, degree of endemism, differences in family composition) and the lakes (surface area, latitude and longitude of lake centroid, distance to closest neighbouring lake) using multiple and linear regression models. Because of a strong species-area relationship, we used resampling to determine whether any observed correlation is driven by that relationship. Results: The regression models indicated size range expansion rather than unidirectional increase or decrease as the dominant pattern of size evolution. The multiple regression models for size range and maximum and minimum size were statistically significant, while the model with mean size was not. Individual contributions and linear regressions indicated species richness and lake surface area as best predictors for size changes. Resampling analysis revealed no significant effects of species richness on the observed patterns. The correlations are comparable across families of different size classes, suggesting a general pattern. Main conclusions: Among the chosen variables, species richness and lake surface area are the most robust predictors of shell size in long-lived lake gastropods. Although the most outstanding and attractive examples for size evolution in lacustrine gastropods derive from lakes with extensive durations, shell size appears to be independent of the duration of the lake as well as longevity of a species. The analogue of long-lived lakes as 'evolutionary islands' does not hold for developments of shell size because different sets of parameters predict size changes.

Occurrence of tethyan radiolarian species in early Cretaceous sediments of ODP Hole 123-765C in the Northeast Indian Ocean (Fig. 4)

During ODP Leg 123, abundant and well-preserved Neocomian radiolarians were recovered at Site 765 (Argo Abyssal Plain) and Site 766 (lower Exmouth Plateau). Assemblages are characterized by the numerical dominance of a small number of non-tethyan forms and by the scarcity of tethyan taxa. Remarkable contrasts exist between radiolarian assemblages extracted from claystones of Site 765 and reexamined DSDP Site 261, and faunas recovered from radiolarian sand layers, only found at Site 765. Clay faunas are unusual in their low diversity of apparently ecologically tolerant (or solution resistant?), ubiquist species, whereas sand faunas are dominated by non-tethyan taxa. Comparisons with Sites 766 and 261, as well as sedimentological observations, lead to the conclusion that this faunal contrast resulted from a difference in provenance, rather than from hydraulic sorting or selective dissolution. The ranges of 27 tethyan taxa from Site 765 were compared to the tethyan radiolarian zonation by Jud ( 1992 ) by means of the Unitary Associations Method. This calculation allows to directly date the Site 765 assemblages and to estimate the amount of truncation of ranges for tethyan taxa. Over 70% of the already few tethyan species of Site 765, have truncated ranges during the Valanginian-Hauterivian. Radiolarian assemblages recovered from claystones at Sites 765 and 261 in the Argo Basin apparently reflect restricted oceanic conditions during the latest Jurassic-Barremian. Neither sedimentary facies nor faunal associations bear any resemblance to what we know from typical tethyan sequences. We conclude that the Argo Basin was paleoceanographically separated from the Tethys during the Late Jurassic and part of the Early Cretaceous by its position at higher paleolatitudes and/or by enclosing land masses. Assemblages recovered from radiolarian sand layers are dominated by non-tethyan species that are interpreted as circumantarctic. Their first appearance in the late Berriasian-early Valanginian predates the oceanization of the Indo-Australian breakup (M11, late Valanginian), but coincides with a sharp increase in margin-derived pelagic turbidites. The Indo-Australian rift zone and the adjacent margins must have been submerged deeply enough to allow an intermittent influx of circumantarctic cold water into the Argo Basin, creating increased bottom current activity. Cold-water radiolarians carried into the Argo Basin upwelled along the margin, died, and accumulated in radiolarite layers due to winnowing by bottom currents. High rates of faunal change and the sharp increase of bottom current activity are thought to be synchronous with possible pronounced late Berriasian-early Valanginian lowstands in sea level. Hypothetically, both phenomena might have been caused by a tendency to glaciation on the Antarctic-Australian continent, which was for the first time isolated from the rest of Gondwana by oceanic seaways as a result of Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sea-floor spreading. The absence of most typical tethyan radiolarian species during the Valanginian-Hauterivian is interpreted as reflecting a time of strong influx of circumantarctic cold water following oceanization (M 11) and rapid spreading between Southeast India and West Australia. The reappearance and gradual abundance/diversity increase of tethyan taxa, along with the still dominant circumantarctic species are thought to result from overall more equitable climatic conditions during the Barremian-early Aptian and from the establishment of an oceanic connection with the Tethys Ocean during the early Aptian.

Data collection of depth and time integrated Calanus finmarchicus abundances, averaged temperatures, and integrated Chlorophyll concentration in the North Atlantic Ocean

Here we present a new, pan-North-Atlantic compilation of data on key mesozooplankton species, including the most important copepod, Calanus finmarchicus. Distributional data of eight representative zooplankton taxa, from recent (2000-2009) Continuous Plankton Recorder data, are presented, along with basin-scale data of the phytoplankton colour index. Then we present a compilation of data on C. finmarchicus, including observations of abundance, demography, egg production and female size, with accompanying data on temperature and chlorophyll. . This is a contribution by Canadian, European and US scientists and their institutions.