Activation of stylolites as conduits for overpressured fluid flow in dolomitized platform carbonates

This research was developed with funding provided by the Spanish Government I+D+I Research Projects CGL2015-69805-P and CGL2015-66335-C2-1-R, and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR251). The research also benefited from a grant of the Geological Society of London (Elspeth Matthews Fund 2015) to EGR. The authors would like to thank M. Aston and O. P. Wennberg for the editorial work, and F. Laponi and an anonymous reviewer for their critical and constructive comments.Peer reviewedPostprin

Food-limited invertebrate larvae in the Southern Ocean: testing a paradigm

A long-standing paradigm of larval ecology is that the high incidence of non-feeding larval development in Antarctic invertebrates is an adaptation to limited availability of algal food. Antarctic plankton communities have a relatively high diversity and abundance of invertebrate larvae, some of which are planktotrophic and synchronize the presence of feeding larval stages to peaks in summer phytoplankton. Among the echinoderm larvae found between 30 December 2002 and 7 January 2003 in the Bransfield Strait, the planktotrophic brachiolaria of Odontaster were the most abundant. Although phytoplankton is the main food source for planktotrophic larvae of asteroids in other oceans, previous estimates of the carbon requirements of larvae of the Antarctic asteroid O. validus have indicated that these larvae could not survive on natural levels of Antarctic phytoplankton. The main aims of the present study were to establish whether the abundance of Odontaster larvae is related to that of palatable phytoplankton and to determine whether the availability of the latter would be sufficient to cover the carbon requirements of the larvae. We found that of all palatable phytoplanktonic groups (Cryptophyceae, picoplankton, nanoplankton and ultraplankton), only Cryptophyceae was a significant predictor of brachiolaria abundance, along with the stratification index. We also found that the carbon content of the total palatable phytoplankton would be sufficient to meet the carbon requirements of Odontaster larvae at almost all stations and depths. Although O. validus spawns between mid- and late winter when the concentration of phytoplankton is lowest, winter spawning may be one way of meeting the exogenous energetic requirements of larvae.This study was part of the BREDDIES Project (REN2001-2650/ANT) and the COUPLING project (CTM2008-06343-C02/ANT) sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.Peer reviewe

Marine Ecology Progress Series 338:119

ABSTRACT: The spatial distribution of meroplankton in Bransfield Strait, Antarctica, and its relationships with hydrographical conditions are described. Biological sampling was carried out with BIONESS sampling gear at 19 stations and at 5 depths between 10 and 300 m. The main hydrographic features were a shallow hydrographic front in the southern part of the strait that separates Transitional Zonal Water with Bellingshausen influence (TBW) from Transitional Zonal Water with Weddell influence (TWW) and a slope front, the so-called Bransfield front, along the South Shetland Islands Slope (SSI). A northeastward baroclinic jet known as the Bransfield Current (BC) originates from this slope front. The meroplankton community was very diverse and included 12 types of larvae, dominated by polychaete and echinoderm larvae. The meroplankton were more abundant closer to the SSI in the BC and decreased in number towards the Antarctic Peninsula. Polychaete larvae were found close to both shores but mainly close to the SSI in TBW; they were very sparse in the central basin, appeared again below 100 m depth in TWW, and increased in abundance in upper layers at stations between the hydrographic front and the Antarctic Peninsula, in TWW. By contrast, echinoderm larvae mainly occupied the central basin and were always associated with the upper 100 m in TBW, just above the polychaete larvae; they were almost absent from TWW. In summary, meroplanktonic larval exhibit a strong dependence on water masses, depth, and fronts

Research priorities for seafood-dependent livelihoods under ocean climate change extreme events

The current magnitude of ocean extreme events already exceeds the end-of-the-decade scenario estimates, and therefore incremental adaptation measures will render insufficient for seafood-dependent livelihoods. Nevertheless, transformational change is deemed promising, but uncertainties remain as to what activates such processes and how maladaptation outcomes can be avoided. While the science on extreme events is advancing fast, little is known about livelihood adaptation and transformation processes in the context of single or compound ocean extreme events. We identify a set of research priorities: 1) the identification of hotspot areas for coastal compound extreme events, 2) the development of bottom-up case study analysis of adaptation to extreme events, 3) the identification of constrainers and enablers to livelihood adaptation and transformation under abrupt change, and 4) directing research to contribute to climate -change policy. An effort addressing these key gaps will inform seafood-dependent livelihood adaptation policies for the 2030 Agenda and beyond

Vertical distribution of meroplankton in the Antarctic Sound, Antarctica

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Enhancement of the benthic communities around an isolated island in the Antarctic Ocean

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Long-term anticoagulant therapy of patients with venous thromboembolism. What are the practices?

Current guidelines of antithrombotic therapy suggest early initiation of vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in non-cancer patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE), and long-term therapy with low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for those with cancer. We used data from RIETE (international registry of patients with VTE) to report the use of long-term anticoagulant therapy over time and to identify predictors of anticoagulant choice (regarding international guidelines) in patients with- and without cancer. Among 35,280 patients without cancer, 82% received long-term VKA (but 17% started after the first week). Among 4,378 patients with cancer, 66% received long term LMWH as monotherapy. In patients without cancer, recent bleeding (odds ratio [OR] 2.70, 95% CI 2.26-3.23), age >70 years (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.24), immobility (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.93-2.19), renal insufficiency (OR 2.42, 95% CI 2.15-2.71) and anemia (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.65-1.87) predicted poor adherence to guidelines. In those with cancer, anemia (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.64-2.06), immobility (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.30-1.76) and metastases (OR 3.22, 95% CI 2.87-3.61) predicted long-term LMWH therapy. In conclusion, we report practices of VTE therapy in real life and found that a significant proportion of patients did not receive the recommended treatment. The perceived increased risk for bleeding has an impact on anticoagulant treatment decision