(Table 1) Chlorophyll concentrations in the Southwest Indian Ocean

Results are examined of determinations of chlorophyll in seawater suspension by fluorescent and spectrophometric methods in the Southwest Indian Ocean near the African coast and in the Seychelles-Mauritius Plateau area in July-November 1977. During the study period near the African coast, the most productive regions, where the weighted average particulate chlorophyll concentration in the photic zone was greater than 0.5 µg/l, were off the Mozambique coast (near the mouth of the Zambezi River and in Delagoa Bay) and also off the coast of Tanzania, near the the Pemba and Zanzibar Islands. The most favorable conditions for growth of phytoplankton, i.e., a combination of distinct water stratification with intense upwelling, were observed in the equatorial divergence zone in the region of the Seychelles and Amirante Islands, where chlorophyll concentration in the layer of the maximum was as high as 3.4 µg/l. This region can be considered as one of the most productive regions of the Indian Ocean.

Water chemistry of lakes in Zackenbergdalen between 1997-2003, East Greenland

The ecology of arctic lakes is strongly influenced by climate-generated variations in snow coverage and by the duration of the ice-free period, which, in turn, affect the physical and chemical conditions of the lakes (Wrona et al., 2005, http://www.acia.uaf.edu/PDFs/ACIA_Science_Chapters_Final/ACIA_Ch08_Final.pdf). Most arctic lakes are characterised by a long period (8-10 months) of ice-cover, cold water and low algal biomass. The water temperature and nutrient concentrations, and most probably the nutrient input from the catchments, are closely related to the duration of snow- and ice-cover in the lakes. In years when the ice-out is late, - that is, in late July, - phytoplankton photosynthesis is limited by the lack of light and nutrients. Less food is then available to the next link in the food chain, such as copepods and daphnids, with implication on their growth rates.

(Table T1) Fluid inclusions in siltstone and sandstone grains from ODP Hole 210-1276A

Twenty samples of siltstones and sandstones were taken from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1276 during Leg 210 for fluid inclusion studies. With the exception of one sample of vein calcite, all inclusions were in quartz grains. The results of fluid-inclusion petrology and microthermometry indicate the presence of three fluid inclusion types (Types 1, 2, and 3). Type 1 fluid inclusions are two-phase (liquid + vapor) aqueous inclusions, and Type 2 inclusions are monophase fluid inclusions (liquid or vapor). These are common in all samples and are formed either as primary isolated inclusions or as secondary inclusions as trails along annealed fractures in the grain. Type 3 fluid inclusions are three-phase (liquid + vapor + solid) inclusions. Type 3 inclusions are rare and are observed as isolated inclusions or in a cluster with other types (i.e., Types 1 and 2). The predominant population throughout the different units sampled is two-phase (liquid + vapor) aqueous fluid inclusions (i.e., Type 1). The temperature of homogenization (TH) bivariate plots for Type 1 inclusions shows dominance throughout the hole of low- to medium-salinity fluids with minimum trapping temperatures between 150° and 400°C.

Crustaceans and fish abundances and species at and around artificially introduced tetrapod fields in the southern North Sea, 2010-2011

In the coming decades, artificial defence structures will increase in importance worldwide for the protection of coasts against the impacts of global warming. However, the ecological effects of such structures on the natural surroundings remain unclear. We investigated the impact of experimentally introduced tetrapod fields on the demersal fish community in a hard-bottom area in the southern North Sea. The results indicated a significant decrease in fish abundance in the surrounding area caused by migration effects towards the artificial structures. Diversity (HB) and evenness (E) values exhibited greater variation after the introduction of the tetrapods. Additionally, a distinct increase in young-of-the-year (YOY) fish was observed near the structures within the second year after introduction. We suggest that the availability of adequate refuges in combination with additional food resources provided by the artificial structures has a highly species-specific attraction effect. However, these findings also demonstrate that our knowledge regarding the impact of artificial structures on temperate fish communities is still too limited to truly understand the ecological processes that are initiated by the introduction of artificial structures. Long-term investigations and additional experimental in situ work worldwide will be indispensable for a full understanding of the mechanisms by which coastal defence structures interact with the coastal environment.

Avian species identity and predation success in tropical cacao agroforestry of the Napu Valley in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Avian ecosystem services such as the suppression of pests are considered being of high ecological and economic importance in a range of ecosystems, especially in tropical agroforestry. But how bird predation success is related to the diversity and composition of the bird community, as well as local and landscape factors, is poorly understood. The author quantified arthropod predation in relation to the identity and diversity of insectivorous birds, using experimental exposure of artificial, caterpillar-like prey on smallholder cacao agroforestry systems, differing in local shade management and distance to primary forest. The bird community was assessed using both mist netting (targeting on active understory insectivores) and point count (higher completeness of species inventories) sampling. The study was conducted in a land use dominated area in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, adjacent to the Lore Lindu National Park. We selected 15 smallholder cacao plantations as sites for bird and bat exclosure experiments in March 2010. Until July 2011, we recorded several data in this study area, including the bird community data, cacao tree data and bird predation experiments that are presented here. We found that avian predation success can be driven by single and abundant insectivorous species, rather than by overall bird species richness. Forest proximity was important for enhancing the density of this key species, but did also promote bird species richness. The availability of local shade trees had no effects on the local bird community or avian predation success. Our findings are both of economical as well as ecological interest because the conservation of nearby forest remnants will likely benefit human needs and biodiversity conservation alike.

Primary productivity and phytoplankton pigment measurements in the North Sea

During the culmination of the phytoplankton spring bloom in the Fladen Ground area in April-Mai 1976, gross primary production was between 1500 and 2000 mg particulate C m**-2 day**-1, at a crop density (mainly diatoms of the genus Chaetoceros) of about 1500-3500 mg C m**-2. Estimates of the C:chlorophyll a ratio in living cells were much lower than those reported in the literature, possibly because part of what is measured as "chlorophyll a" by the common fluorometric method is associated with particles that are not reported as cells. Most of the dark 14C fixation during the bloom's climax was due to abiotic processes. Excretion of 14C-labeled carbohydrates did not account for a significant fraction of the total photosynthetic rate. The low crop after the bloom period, in June, corresponded with nutrient depletion of the euphotic zone. The low photosynthetic efficiency in June may have been a gross underestimate. The presence of relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll derivatives signifies that the algal crop was consumed by heterotrophs, but at a lower rate in April/May than during the June cruise when particularly high molar ratios of phaeophorbide a and phaeophytin a relative to chlorophyll a were found. The high respiratory rate relative to autotrophic production in June manifested itself also in high dark 14C fixation values. The high concentration of phaeophorbide a in the upper 40 m and its scarcity below this depth during the spring bloom climax in April/May implies that copepod grazing at that time took place principally in the euphotic zone. The remarkably high concentration of chlorophyllide a in the surface layer during the bloom period indicates that the part of the crop that was destroyed by the grazers while eating was occasionally as high as the part that was actually ingested.