Seawater carbonate chemistry and shell length of Mediterranean pteropod Cavolinia inflexa larvae during experiments

Larvae of the Mediterranean pteropod Cavolinia inflexa were maintained at controlled pHT values of 8.1, 7.82 and 7.51, equivalent respectively to pCO2 levels of 380, 857 and 1713 µatm. At pHT 7.82 larvae exhibited malformations and lower shell growth, compared to the control condition. At pHT 7.51 the larvae did not make shells but were viable and showed a normal development. However, smaller shells or no shells will have both ecological (food web) and biogeochemical (export of carbon and carbonate) consequences. These results confirm that 1pteropods, as well as the species dependent upon them as a food resource, will be severely impacted by ocean acidification.

Relative abundance of pteropod species of the plankton pump samples in the surface water of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (Table 4)

Plankton pump samples and plankton tows (size fractions between 0.04 mm and 1.01 mm) from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean contain the following shell- and skeleton-producing planktonic and nektonic organisms, which can be fossilized in the sediments: diatoms, radiolarians, foraminifers, pteropods, heteropods, larvae of benthic gastropods and bivalves, ostracods, and fish. The abundance of these components has been mapped quantitatively in the eastern North Atlantic surface waters in October - December 1971. More ash (after ignition of the organic matter, consisting mostly of these components) per cubic meter of water is found close to land masses (continents and islands) and above shallow submarine elevations than in the open ocean. Preferred biotops of planktonic diatoms in the region described are temperate shallow water and tropical coastal upwelling areas. Radiolarians rarely occur close to the continent, but are abundant in pelagic warm water masses, even near islands. Foraminifers are similar to the radiolarians, rarer in the coastal water mass of the continent than in the open ocean or off oceanic islands. Their abundance is highest outside the upwelling area off NW Africa. Molluscs generally outnumber planktonic foraminifers, implying that the carbonate cycle of the ocean might be influenced considerably by these animals. The molluscs include heteropods, pteropods, and larvae of benthic bivalves and gastropods. Larvae of benthic molluscs occur more frequently close to continental and island margins and above submarine shoals (in this case mostly guyots) than in the open ocean. Their size increases, but they decrease in number with increasing distance from their area of origin. Ostracods and fish have only been found in small numbers concentrated off NW Africa. All of the above-mentioned components occur in higher abundances in the surface water than in subsurface waters. They are closely related to the hydrography of the sampled water masses (here defined through temperature measurements). Relatively warm water masses of the southeastern branches of the Gulf Stream system transport subtropical and southern temperate species to the Bay of Biscay, relatively cool water masses of the Portugal and Canary Currents carry transitional faunal elements along the NW African coast southwards to tropical regions. These mix in the northwest African upwelling area with tropical faunal elements which are generally assumed to live in the subsurface water masses and which probably have been transported northwards to this area by a subsurface counter current. The faunas typical for tropical surface water masses are not only reduced due to the tongue of cool water extending southwards along the coast, but they are also removed from the coastal zone by the upwelling subsurface water masses carrying their own shell and skeleton assemblages. Tropical water masses contain much more shelland skeleton-producing plankters than subtropical and temperate ones. The climatic conditions found at different latitudes control the development and intensity of a separate continental coastal water mass with its own plankton assemblages. Extent of this water mass and steepness of gradients between the pelagic and coastal environment limit the occurrence of pelagic plankton close to the continental coast. A similar water mass in only weakly developed off oceanic islands.

Distribution of macrozooplankton at time series station MIGZOO-4

A large population of the colonial pelagic tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum occurred in April 1991 in offshore waters of the Ligurian Sea (Northwestern Mediterranean). The high numbers of colonies caught allowed their vertical distribution and diel migration in the 0-965 m water column to be described as a function of their size. Daytime depths and amplitudes of the migration were correlated with colony size. The amplitude of the migration ranged from 90 m for 3-mm-length colonies to 760 m for 51-mm-length colonies, with a mean amplitude of 410 m for the whole population, all sizes pooled. The results of horizontal hauls at a given depth around sunrise and sunset showed a marked diurnal symmetry of the migratory cycle relative to noon, and that migration of the population was not cohesive. For example, the larger the colonies, the later after sunset they reached the upper layers during their upward migration.

The Global Plankton Database: an inventory and data from the Former Soviet Union expeditions

At present time, there is a lack of knowledge on the interannual climate-related variability of zooplankton communities of the tropical Atlantic, central Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea, due to the absence of appropriate databases. In the mid latitudes, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the dominant mode of atmospheric fluctuations over eastern North America, the northern Atlantic Ocean and Europe. Therefore, one of the issues that need to be addressed through data synthesis is the evaluation of interannual patterns in species abundance and species diversity over these regions in regard to the NAO. The database has been used to investigate the ecological role of the NAO in interannual variations of mesozooplankton abundance and biomass along the zonal array of the NAO influence. Basic approach to the proposed research involved: (1) development of co-operation between experts and data holders in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UK, and USA to rescue and compile the oceanographic data sets and release them on CD-ROM, (2) organization and compilation of a database based on FSU cruises to the above regions, (3) analysis of the basin-scale interannual variability of the zooplankton species abundance, biomass, and species diversity.

Thecosomata in late Quternary deposits of ODP Holes 134-830A and 134-831A

We undertook a quantitative study of Thecosomata shells (pelagic gastropods) and their remains in Quaternary foraminiferal oozes deposited on the tilted calcareous platform of the Bougainville Guyot (Hole 831 A), and in the late Quaternary volcanic siltstones, claystones and sandy interbeds on the upper forearc slope of the central New Hebrides Island Arc (Hole 830A). The distribution of the species is based on the identification of adult shells, juvenile stages, protoconchs, and characteristic shell fragments. By studying thecosomatous shells using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), we were able to specify the fine microstructure of the coiled Limacina inflata and compare it with the rod-type crossed-lamellar structure of some other Limacina species, as well as with the helical structure of the Cavoliniidae.