(Table 1) Different age analysis from sediment cores XP98-PC-4 and XP98-PC-2

Sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Sea of Okhotsk were reconstructed based on alkenone unsaturation indices in two sediment cores. Alkenone-SSTs were found to range from 3 to 9 °C over the last 85 kyr with higher SST values in warm periods: Holocene and the oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5a. In the last glacial periods (OIS 4 and 3), average alkenone SST was estimated to be 4 °C, which was 4 °C lower than the Holocene on average. However, alkenone SSTs around the last glacial maximum (LGM) are as high as those of the Holocene. The variation patterns of U37K' in the Okhotsk Sea were found to be similar to those reported in the Sea of Japan [Org. Chem. 32 (2001) 57] over the last 30 kyr, although the SSTs were lower in the Sea of Okhotsk. The higher U37K' values around the LGM may be a rather common phenomenon in semi-closed marginal seas such as the Japan Sea and the Okhotsk Sea, which are both adjacent to the northwestern Pacific. Such an anomaly in the LGM may have been caused by either a seasonal shift of coccolith blooming or a contribution from a different strain or species that produces alkenones

Contrasting effects of ocean acidification on reproduction in reef fishes

Differences in the sensitivity of marine species to ocean acidification will influence the structure of marine communities in the future. Reproduction is critical for individual and population success, yet is energetically expensive and could be adversely affected by rising CO2 levels in the ocean. We investigated the effects of projected future CO2 levels on reproductive output of two species of coral reef damselfish, Amphiprion percula and Acanthochromis polyacanthus. Adult breeding pairs were maintained at current-day control (446 µatm), moderate (652 µatm) or high CO2 (912 µatm) for a 9-month period that included the summer breeding season. The elevated CO2 treatments were consistent with CO2 levels projected by 2100 under moderate (RCP6) and high (RCP8) emission scenarios. Reproductive output increased in A. percula, with 45-75 % more egg clutches produced and a 47-56 % increase in the number of eggs per clutch in the two elevated CO2 treatments. In contrast, reproductive output decreased at high CO2 in Ac. polyacanthus, with approximately one-third as many clutches produced compared with controls. Egg survival was not affected by CO2 for A. percula, but was greater in elevated CO2 for Ac. polyacanthus. Hatching success was also greater for Ac. polyacanthus at elevated CO2, but there was no effect of CO2 treatments on offspring size. Despite the variation in reproductive output, body condition of adults did not differ between control and CO2 treatments in either species. Our results demonstrate different effects of high CO2 on fish reproduction, even among species within the same family. A greater understanding of the variation in effects of ocean acidification on reproductive performance is required to predict the consequences for future populations of marine organisms.