Tab.1: Tabulation of pinguin population within the Antarctic Peninsula region

Six species of penguins breed on the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. Their breeding populations within the Antarctic Peninsula, and the South Orkney and South Shetland Is., and estimates of global populations are given. Typical breeding seasons are also presented, but it must be noted that these will vary inter-annually and intra-annually under the influence of factors such as sea-ice extent and ENSO (interannual) and the location of each breeding colony (southerly localities will be later than northerly localities, as their breeding season is "compressed" within the shorter summer). Their foraging strategies (categorized as near-shore or offshore) and typical durations of foraging trips are also tabulated. As with breeding season events, foraging behaviour will vary intra-seasonally and inter-seasonally (in terms of dive duration, dive depth, foraging location, etc). The distribution of known penguin breeding colonies is circum-continental, with Emperor and Adelie penguins predominant on approximately 75 % of the coast, with two major concentrations in the Ross Sea and in Prydz Bay. The third concentration is in the Antarctic Peninsula region, where some of the largest penguin colonies are present. All six species breed within the area (predominantly Chinstrap Penguins), and the Peninsula region has a greater diversity than the remainder ofthe Antarctic with respect to penguins. The distribution at sea of nonbreeding penguins is less cIear. Non-breeding individuals of all six species move throughout the Southern Ocean, and in many cases, to areas well north of the winter pack-ice zone. However, it is not possible to estimate densities of penguins at sea as there are no estimates of non-breeding penguin populations the extent of their travels.

Geochemistry of sands and sandstones in ODP Leg 126 sites

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 126, six sites were cored in a young backarc rift basin and its flanks (rift onset 1.1-3.56 Ma) and in the forearc basin of the Izu-Bonin Arc. In the backarc area, strata are younger than about 4.5 Ma, whereas in the forearc, ages are about 0-31 Ma in sections punctuated by important Miocene unconformities. Bulk chemical analyses of volcaniclastic turbidite sands and sandstones, derived directly from the arc, were obtained from 271 atomic absorption analyses (major elements), 253 XRF analyses (trace elements) and 16 ICP-MS analyses (trace and rare-earth elements). Of the 271 samples, 78 come from the backarc area and the remainder from the forearc. The sands and sandstones reflect the igneous compositions of their sources. Most are formed of materials derived from subalkaline, low-K andesites, and dacites, although compositions range from basalt to rhyolite. Basic and acid andesites are predominant in Oligocene rocks; in contrast, Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments were derived from acid andesitic to rhyolitic sources. The oldest sandstones, estimated to have an age of about 31 Ma, were derived from an arc tholeiitic, not boninitic, source. The 26-31 Ma sandstones furthest to the north, at Sites 787 and 792, have higher relative concentrations of Ti, Zr, and Y than do those at southern Site 793. Data from younger samples indicate that, for more than 30 m.y., the average composition of volcaniclastic sediments and volcanism near Aoga Shima was more basic than to the south, near Sumisu Jima. Using the sandstones as igneous proxies, we conclude that magmas erupted along the arc have become more depleted in light-rare-earth elements (LREE) with time. There was a major change in rare-earth-element (REE) concentrations in the late Oligocene, from essentially flat patterns (normalized La/Yb about 1-1.5) to LREE-depleted patterns (normalized La/Yb about 0.5). At the same time, Zr/Y ratios decreased from about 2-4 to about 1.5-2.5. These changes may reflect a shift in provenance, or changes in the composition of the mantle wedge beneath the arc. In the backarc area, lithic clasts and glass shards of rift-facies basalt are present in sediments as old as 2.35-3.15 Ma. Two samples of mafic sand from the backarc basin have flat REE patterns (normalized La/Yb about 1.0), like some of the <1-Ma rift lavas and unlike pre-rift sand and sandstone samples. These possibly represent the local effects of sedimentary mixing of detritus from arc and backarc eruptions because no evidence from the arc itself exists to suggest a recent change in the REE content of magmas.

Abundance of large protists from the Infrakingdom Rhizaria in the global ocean

The present data set is a worldwide compilation from 11 oceanographic expeditions during which an underwater vision profiler (UVP) was deployed in situ to determine the vertical distribution (abundance) of 10 taxonomic/morphological groups of plankton larger than 600 µm, belonging to the Infrakingdom Rhizaria, including Phaeodaria, Radiolaria, Collodaria and Acantharia.

Environmental context of a compilation about the distribution of large protists from the Infrakingdom Rhizaria in the global ocean

The present data set provides environmental context to a worldwide compilation from 11 oceanographic expeditions during which an underwater vision profiler (UVP) was deployed in situ to determine the vertical distribution plankton larger than 600 µm, belonging to the Infrakingdom Rhizaria.

Biometry, isotopic composition and diet of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from Lake Aigneau, Northern Quebec

Two modal size groups of sexually mature Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) differing in shape and found at different depths in Lake Aigneau in the Canadian sub-Arctic are described and tested for genetic and ecological differentiation. Forms consisted of a small littoral resident, mean size 21.7 cm, and a large profundal resident, mean size 53.9 cm. Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicated that seven of eight haplotypes were diagnostic for either the littoral or profundal fish, with 66.6% of the variation being found within form groupings. Pairwise tests of microsatellite data indicated significant differences in nine of 12 loci and a significant difference between the forms across all tested loci. Molecular variation was partitioned to 84.1% within and 15.9% between forms and suggestive of either restricted interbreeding over time or different allopatric origins. Stable isotope signatures were also significantly different, with the profundal fish having higher d13C and d15N values than the littoral fish. Overlap and separation, respectively, in the range of form d13C and d15N signatures indicated that carbon was obtained from similar sources, but that forms fed at different trophic levels. Littoral fish relied on aquatic insects, predominantly chironomids. Profundal fish were largely piscivorous, including cannibalism. Predominantly empty stomachs and low per cent nitrogen muscle-tissue composition among profundal fish further indicated that the feeding activity was limited to the winter when ice-cover increases the density of available prey at depth. Results provide evidence of significant differences between the modal groups, with origins in both genetics and ecology.

Biodiversity context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013)

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides biodiversity context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), including various diversity indexes calculated for the sampling location using satellite and model climatologies (Darwin project, Physat) and results from the sequencing of Tara Oceans samples.

Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about depth specific features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), including calculated averages of mesaurements made concurrently at the sampling location and depth, and calculated averages from climatologies (AMODIS, VGPM) and satellite products.

Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features related to the sampling date, time and location. Includes calculated averages of mesaurements made concurrently at the sampling location and depth, and calculated averages from climatologies (AMODIS, VGPM) and satellite products.

The NH3-Abating effect of Slurry Injection as Influenced by Soil Moisture in a Semiarid Arable Soil

Accumulation of large volumes of dilute slurries is considered one of the major problems related to intensive farming (Sommer et al., 2004). In the EU-27, more than half of the total N excretion is applied to croplands due to technical advantages for farmers (e.g. reuse of nutrients). However, the N use efficiency of slurries produced by livestock is low, i.e. only 20-52% of the excreted N is recovered by crops. Much of the remainder can be lost into the atmosphere as ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O), dinitrogen (N2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).