(Table 1) Occurrence of Pithonella species in DSDP Leg 74 Holes

Two new species, three new forms in open nomenclature and two previously known species of the genus Pithonella (sensu Bolli, 1974), attributed to the dinoflagellate family Peridiniaceae are described from Upper Cretaceous to lower Pleistocene sediments of the Walvis Ridge, southeastern Atlantic Ocean. It is the first time that pithonelloid calcareous dinoflagellates are described from sediment younger than early Paleocene.

Haplotype and nucleotide characteristics of photobiont and mycobiont gene sequences in the lichen Cetraria aculeata

Lichens, symbiotic associations of fungi (mycobionts) and green algae or cyanobacteria (photobionts), are poikilohydric organisms that are particularly well adapted to withstand adverse environmental conditions. Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic are therefore largely dominated by lichens. The effects of global climate change are especially pronounced in the maritime Antarctic and it may be assumed that the lichen vegetation will profoundly change in the future. The genetic diversity of populations is closely correlated to their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and to their future evolutionary potential. In this study, we present evidence for low genetic diversity in Antarctic mycobiont and photobiont populations of the widespread lichen Cetraria aculeata. We compared between 110 and 219 DNA sequences from each of three gene loci for each symbiont. A total of 222 individuals from three Antarctic and nine antiboreal, temperate and Arctic populations were investigated. The mycobiont diversity is highest in Arctic populations, while the photobionts are most diverse in temperate regions. Photobiont diversity decreases significantly towards the Antarctic but less markedly towards the Arctic, indicating that ecological factors play a minor role in determining the diversity of Antarctic photobiont populations. Richness estimators calculated for the four geographical regions suggest that the low genetic diversity of Antarctic populations is not a sampling artefact. Cetraria aculeata appears to have diversified in the Arctic and subsequently expanded its range into the Southern Hemisphere. The reduced genetic diversity in the Antarctic is most likely due to founder effects during long-distance colonization.

Biomagnetostratigraphy of ODP Leg 189 sites

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)-Quaternary summary biostratigraphies are presented for Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 189 Sites 1168 (West Tasmanian Margin), 1170 and 1171 (South Tasman Rise), and 1172 (East Tasman Plateau). The age models are calibrated to magnetostratigraphy and integrate both calcareous (planktonic foraminifers and nannofossils) and siliceous (diatoms and radiolarians) microfossil groups with organic walled microfossils (organic walled dinoflagellate cysts, or dinocysts). We also incorporate benthic oxygen isotope stratigraphies into the upper Quaternary parts of the age models for further control. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary age-depth model for all deep-penetrating sites of Leg 189 incorporating updated shipboard biostratigraphic data with new information obtained during the 3 yr since the cruise. In this respect we provide a report of work to November 2003, not a final synthesis of the biomagnetostratigraphy of Leg 189, yet we present the most complete integrated age model for these sites at this time. Detailed information of the stratigraphy of individual fossil groups, paleomagnetism, and isotope data are presented elsewhere. Ongoing efforts aim toward further integration of age information for Leg 189 sites and will include an attempt to correlate zonation schemes for all the major microfossil groups and detailed correlation between all sites.

Stratigraphic distribution of marine palynomorph species recorded for the Miocene of ODP Hole 105-645E (Table 1)

A total of 145 samples were analyzed for palynology, and all were found to be productive. Residues are dominated by pollen, terrestrial spores, and land plant tissues. Marine palynomorphs occur in all samples, which allowed us to recognize five Miocene dinocyst assemblage zones. Dinocyst assemblages indicate cool-water conditions and suggest a neritic rather than fully oceanic environment, with not only North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea affinities, but also containing both notable protoperidiniacean and possible endemic elements. Dinocyst assemblages indicate an early Miocene age for the bottom of Hole 645E and an age no younger than early late Miocene (Sample 105-645E-24R, CC) near the top of the interval studied. These age assignments provide an estimated initiation of ice rafting in Baffin Bay at between 7.4 and 9.5 Ma. Increased terrigenous influx and apparent disappearance of certain dinocyst taxa occur in the middle to late Miocene and may be related to oceanographic changes or climatic deterioration. Spores and pollen indicate a climate that varied within a temperate regime during the early and middle to early late Miocene, followed by climatic deterioration. Four new dinocyst species are described: Batiacasphaera gemmata, Impletosphaeridium prolatum, Operculodinium vacuolatum, and Selenopemphix brevispinosa. The acritarch genus Cyclopsiella Drugg and Loeblich is emended, and two new combinations have been created: Cyclopsiella granosa (Matsuoka) and Cyclopsiella? laevigata (Chateauneuf). Cyclopsiella granosa (Matsuoka) n. comb. is considered a subjective junior synonym of Cyclopsiella granulata He and Li. Ascostomocystis granulatus Chateauneuf has been provisionally allocated to Cyclopsiella and renamed Cyclopsiella? chateauneufii. Two new acritarch species are described: Cyclopsiella spiculosa and Cymatiosphaera! baffinensis.

Files of figures 2, 3 and table

Certain allelochemicals of the marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense cause lysis of a broad spectrum of target protist cells but the lytic mechanism is poorly defined. We first hypothesized that membrane sterols serve as molecular targets of these lytic compounds, and that differences in sterol composition among donor and target cells may cause insensitivity of Alexandrium and sensitivity of targets to lytic compounds. We investigated Ca2+ influx after application of lytic fractions to a model cell line PC12 derived from a pheochromocytoma of the rat adrenal medulla to establish how the lytic compounds affect ion flux associated with lysis of target membranes. The lytic compounds increased permeability of the cell membrane for Ca2+ ions even during blockade of Ca2+ channels with cadmium. Results of a liposome assay suggested that the lytic compounds did not lyse such target membranes non-specifically by means of detergent-like activity. Analysis of sterol composition of isolates of A. tamarense and of five target protistan species showed that both lytic and non-lytic A. tamarense strains contain cholesterol and dinosterol as major sterols, whereas none of the other tested species contain dinosterol. Adding sterols and phosphatidylcholine to a lysis bioassay with the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina for evaluation of competitive binding indicated that the lytic compounds possessed apparent high affinity for free sterols and phosphatidylcholine. Lysis of protistan target cells was dose-dependently reduced by adding various sterols or phosphatidylcholine. For three tested sterols, the lytic compounds showed highest affinity towards cholesterol followed by ergosterol and brassicasterol. Cholesterol comprised a higher percentage of total sterols in plasma membrane fractions of A. tamarense than in corresponding whole cell fractions. We conclude therefore that although the molecular targets of the lytic compounds are likely to involve sterol components of membranes, A. tamarense must have a complex self-protective mechanism that still needs to be addressed.

Photosynthetically active radiation and microalgae and protist occurrence at ice stations of POLARSTERN cruise ARK-XIX/1

Pack ice around Svalbard was sampled during the expedition ARK XIX/1 of RV "Polarstern" (March-April 2003) in order to determine environmental conditions, species composition and abundances of sea-ice algae and heterotrophic protists during late winter. As compared to other seasons, species diversity of algae (total 40 taxa) was not low, but abundances (5,000-448,000 cells/l) were lower by one to two orders of magnitude. Layers of high algal abundances were observed both at the bottom and in the ice interior. Inorganic nutrient concentrations (NO2, NO3, PO4, Si(OH)4) within the ice were mostly higher than during other seasons, and enriched compared to seawater by enrichment indices of 1.6-24.6 (corrected for losses through the desalination process). Thus, the survival of algae in Arctic pack ice was not limited by nutrients at the beginning of the productive season. Based on less-detailed physical data, light was considered as the most probable factor controlling the onset of the spring ice-algal bloom in the lower part of the ice, while low temperatures and salinities inhibit algal growth in the upper part of the ice at the end of the winter. Incorporation of ice algae probably took place during the entire freezing period. Possible overwintering strategies during the dark period, such as facultative heterotrophy, energy reserves, and resting spores are discussed.

Pollen record from Muggesfelder See and Plussee in Germany

A basaltic tephra layer consisting of brownish-olive glass shards. and about 0.2 mm thick. was found in cores from four lakes in northwest Germany. According to pollen analysis it was deposited during the early Boreal period (corresponding to about 8700 BP). The petrographic properties. the geochemical composition and the age agree with those of the Saksunarvatn tephra. which was first found on the Faroe Islands. The position of the tephra layer in the pollen stratigraphy and in the absolute time-scale is discussed. Procedures for locating the tephra in other cores are suggested.

Files related to figures 1 to 13

Members of the marine dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium are known to exude allelochemicals, unrelated to well-known neurotoxins (PSP-toxins, spirolides), with negative effects on other phytoplankton and marine grazers. Physico/chemical characterization of extracellular lytic compounds of A. tamarense, quantified by Rhodomonas salina bioassay, showed that the lytic activity, and hence presumably the compounds were stable over wide ranges of temperatures and pH and were refractory to bacterial degradation. Two distinct lytic fractions were collected by reversed-phase solid-phase extraction. The more hydrophilic fraction accounted for about 2% of the whole lytic activity of the A. tamarense culture supernatant, while the less hydrophilic one accounted for about 98% of activity. Although temporal stability of the compounds is high, substantial losses were evident during purification. Lytic activity was best removed from aqueous phase with chloroform-methanol (3:1). A "pseudo-loss" of lytic activity in undisturbed and low-concentrated samples and high activity of an emulsion between aqueous and n-hexane phase after liquid-liquid partition are strong evidence for the presence of amphipathic compounds. Lytic activity in the early fraction of gel permeation chromatography and lack of activity after 5 kD ultrafiltration indicate that the lytic agents form large aggregates or macromolecular complexes.

Vertical microalgae fluxes at the mooring station LOMO-2 over the Lomonosov Ridge in the period from September 15, 1995 till August 16, 1996

The first studies of microalgae fluxes over the Lomonosov Ridge in the northern Laptev Sea were carried out with a sediment trap at the year-long mooring station LOMO-2, installed at 150 m depth from September 15, 1995 to August 16, 1996. These studies demonstrated essential seasonal variations of vertical microalgae flux. It was shown that in summer diverse flora (composed mainly of cryophylic diatoms) growed intensively beneath the permanent ice cover. Strongly pronounced seasonal variations of microalgae growth correlate closely with solar radiation. Exactly during the maximum insolation period, from the middle of July until the end of September, the microalgae flux was hundreds of times higher than that in the rest of the year. Summer values of the microalgae flux over the Lomonosov Ridge in the northern Laptev Sea were similar to those in the Weddell Sea (Antarctic) and exceeded summer flux values in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas and in the St. Anna Trough (northwestern Kara Sea).