The Association of Antarctic Krill Euphausia superba with the Under-Ice Habitat

The association of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba with the under-ice habitat was investigated in the Lazarev Sea (Southern Ocean) during austral summer, autumn and winter. Data were obtained using novel Surface and Under Ice Trawls (SUIT), which sampled the 0–2 m surface layer both under sea ice and in open water. Average surface layer densities ranged between 0.8 individuals m−2 in summer and autumn, and 2.7 individuals m−2 in winter. In summer, under-ice densities of Antarctic krill were significantly higher than in open waters. In autumn, the opposite pattern was observed. Under winter sea ice, densities were often low, but repeatedly far exceeded summer and autumn maxima. Statistical models showed that during summer high densities of Antarctic krill in the 0–2 m layer were associated with high ice coverage and shallow mixed layer depths, among other factors. In autumn and winter, density was related to hydrographical parameters. Average under-ice densities from the 0–2 m layer were higher than corresponding values from the 0–200 m layer collected with Rectangular Midwater Trawls (RMT) in summer. In winter, under-ice densities far surpassed maximum 0–200 m densities on several occasions. This indicates that the importance of the ice-water interface layer may be under-estimated by the pelagic nets and sonars commonly used to estimate the population size of Antarctic krill for management purposes, due to their limited ability to sample this habitat. Our results provide evidence for an almost year-round association of Antarctic krill with the under-ice habitat, hundreds of kilometres into the ice-covered area of the Lazarev Sea. Local concentrations of postlarval Antarctic krill under winter sea ice suggest that sea ice biota are important for their winter survival. These findings emphasise the susceptibility of an ecological key species to changing sea ice habitats, suggesting potential ramifications on Antarctic ecosystems induced by climate change

Anaerobic digestion and gasification of seaweed

The potential of algal biomass as a source of liquid and gaseous biofuels is a highly topical theme, with over 70 years of sometimes intensive research and considerable financial investment. A wide range of unit operations can be combined to produce algal biofuel, but as yet there is no successful commercial system producing such biofuel. This suggests that there are major technical and engineering difficulties to be resolved before economically viable algal biofuel production can be achieved. Both gasification and anaerobic digestion have been suggested as promising methods for exploiting bioenergy from biomass, and two major projects have been funded in the UK on the gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed, MacroBioCrude and SeaGas. This chapter discusses the use of gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed for the production of biofuel

Analysis of fatty acids and fatty alcohols reveals seasonal and sex-specific changes in the diets of seabirds

A key challenge in ecology is to find ways to obtain complete and accurate information about the diets of animals. Traditional methods of collecting such information from seabirds (usually stomach content analysis or observations of prey at nests) are hampered by biases and only give information from the immediate time of sampling. Furthermore, the period of investigation using traditional methods is often restricted to the few short months of breeding. Here, we use an analysis of fatty acids and fatty alcohols from blood, adipose tissue and stomach oil to investigate how the diets of male and female common guillemots (Uria aalge), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) differed through the sampling period (prelaying and breeding season) and by sex. Diets of both sexes of all three species generally varied across the season, but sex differences were apparent only in fulmars during prelaying. Our study shows that FA analysis can provide significant insights into diets of seabirds, in particular periods of the annual cycle which are not readily studied using traditional methods

Шматмоўныя перавыданні твораў Мікалая Гусоўскага ў Літве, Польшчы, Украіне

Рец. на кн.: Гусовський М. Пiсня про зубра. Поема. На латинськiй та украïнськiй мовах. Рiвне: Волинські обереги, 2007. 126 с. Husovianas Mikalojus. Raštai = Nicolaus Hussovianus. Opera. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutes, 2007. 302 р. Hussowski Miko łaj. Pieśń o żubrze, jego postaci, dzikości i o polowaniu na niego = Carmen de statura feritate ac venatione bisontis = Песьня пра аблічча, дзікасьць зубра і паляваньне на яго = Giesmė apie stumbro išvaizdą, žiaurumą ir medžioklę = Песнь о зубре = A poem on bison (fragments). Supraśl: Stowarzyszenie Uroczysko; Agencja Reklamowo-Wydawnicza Arkadiusz Grzegorczyk, 2007. 336 s