(Table 1) Lipid content and organohalogen contaminant concentration in plasma of incubating glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Bjørnøya, Norwegian Arctic in 2006

The factors influencing prolactin (PRL) variation in birds and in wildlife in general have rarely been investigated with respect to the physiological impacts of exposure to environmental contaminants. We investigated the associations between circulating baseline PRL levels and concentrations of eight persistent organohalogen contaminant (OHC) classes (i.e., major organochlorines and brominated flame retardants, and associated metabolic products) in blood (plasma) of free-ranging glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), a top predator in the Norwegian Arctic, engaged in the process of incubation. We further examined whether plasma OHC concentrations were associated with the variation of PRL in glaucous gulls exposed to a standardized capture/restraint protocol. Plasma OHC concentrations in male glaucous gulls were 2-to 3-fold higher relative to females. Baseline PRL levels tended to be higher in females compared to males, although not significantly (p = 0.20). In both males and females, the 30-min capture/restraint protocol led on average to a 26% decrease in PRL levels, which resulted in a rate of PRL decrease of 0.76 ng/mL/min. The baseline PRL levels and the rate of decrease in PRL levels tended to vary negatively with plasma OHC concentrations in males, but not in females, although several of these associations did not adhere with the criterion of significance (alpha = 0.05). Present results suggest that in highly OHC-exposed male glaucous gulls, the control of PRL release may be affected by the direct or indirect modulating actions of OHCs and/or their metabolically derived products. We conclude that potentially OHC-mediated impact on PRL secretion in glaucous gulls (males) may be a contributing factor to the adverse effects observed on the reproductive behavior, development and population size of glaucous gulls breeding in the Norwegian Arctic.

Ladderane lipid analysis and pore water and sediment chemistry of sediment cores from the continental shelf and slope off northwest Africa

The presence and abundance of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria was investigated in continental shelf and slope sediments (300-3000 m water depth) off northwest Africa in a combined approach applying quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) analysis of anammox-specific 16S rRNA genes and anammox-specific ladderane biomarker lipids. We used the presence of an intact ladderane monoether lipid with a phosphocholine (PC) headgroup as a direct indicator for living anammox bacteria and compared it with the abundance of ladderane core lipids derived from both living and dead bacterial biomass. All investigated sediments contained ladderane lipids, both intact and core lipids, in agreement with the presence of anammoxspecific 16S rRNA gene copies, indicating that anammox occurs at all sites. Concentrations of ladderane core lipids in core top sediments varied between 0.3 and 97 ng g**-1 sediment, with the highest concentrations detected at the sites located on the shelf at shallower water depths between 300 and 500 m. In contrast, the C20 [3]-ladderane monoether-PC lipid was most abundant in a core top sediment from 1500 m water depth. Both anammox-specific 16S rRNA gene copy numbers and the concentration of the C20 [3]-ladderane monoether-PC lipid increased downcore in sediments located at greater water depths, showing highest concentrations of 1.2 x 10**8 copies g**-1 sediment and 30 pg g**-1 sediment, respectively, at the deepest station of 3000 m water depth. This suggests that the relative abundance of anammox bacteria is higher in sediments at intermediate to deep water depths where carbon mineralization rates are lower but where anammox is probably more important than denitrification.

Photosynthetically active radiation during the experiment, and lipid content of sub- and intertidal specimens of the endemic Antarctic red alga, Palmaria decipiens

In coastal waters, Antarctic rhodophytes are exposed to harsh environmental conditions throughout the year, like low water temperatures ranging from -1.8°C to 2°C and high light during the summer season. Photosynthetic performance under these conditions may be affected by slowed down enzymatic reactions and the increased generation of reactive oxygen species. The consequence might be a chronic photoinhibition of photosynthetic primary reactions related to increased fragmentation of the D1 reaction centre protein in photosystem II. It is hypothesized that changes in lipid composition of biomembranes may represent an adaptive trait to maintain D1 turnover in response to temperature variation. The interactive effects of high light and low temperature were studied on an endemic Antarctic red alga, Palmaria decipiens, sampled from two shore levels, intertidal and subtidal, and exposed to mesocosm experiments using two levels of natural solar radiation and two different temperature regimes (2-5°C and 5-10°C). During the experimental period of 23 days, maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis decreased in all treatments, with the intertidal specimens exposed at 5-10°C being most affected. On the pigment level, a decreasing ratio of phycobiliproteins to chlorophyll a was found in all treatments. A pronounced decrease in D1 protein concentration occurred in subtidal specimens exposed at 2-5°C. Marked changes in lipid composition, i.e. the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids, indicated an effective response of specimens to temperature change. Results provide new insights into mechanisms of stress adaptation in this key species of shallow Antarctic benthic communities.