Muestreo de zooplancton neustónico

Metodología para obtener muestras de neuston de la fracción mayor de 200 mm, válida tanto para estudios cualitativos como cuantitativos

Plastic debris in the open ocean

There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and the fate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previously published reports, we show a worldwide distribution of plastic on the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in the convergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres with comparable density. However, the global load of plastic on the open ocean surface was estimated to be on the order of tens of thousands of tons, far less than expected. Our observations of the size distribution of floating plastic debris point at important size-selective sinks removing millimeter-sized fragments of floating plastic on a large scale. This sink may involve a combination of fast nano-fragmentation of the microplastic into particles of microns or smaller, their transference to the ocean interior by food webs and ballasting processes, and processes yet to be discovered. Resolving the fate of the missing plastic debris is of fundamental importance to determine the nature and significance of the impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean

Dispersal similarly shapes both population genetics and community patterns in the marine realm.

Dispersal plays a key role to connect populations and, if limited, is one of the main processes to maintain and generate regional biodiversity. According to neutral theories of molecular evolution and biodiversity, dispersal limitation of propagules and population stochasticity are integral to shaping both genetic and community structure. We conducted a parallel analysis of biological connectivity at genetic and community levels in marine groups with different dispersal traits. We compiled large data sets of population genetic structure (98 benthic macroinvertebrate and 35 planktonic species) and biogeographic data (2193 benthic macroinvertebrate and 734 planktonic species). We estimated dispersal distances from population genetic data (i.e., FST vs. geographic distance) and from β-diversity at the community level. Dispersal distances ranked the biological groups in the same order at both genetic and community levels, as predicted by organism dispersal ability and seascape connectivity: macrozoobenthic species without dispersing larvae, followed by macrozoobenthic species with dispersing larvae and plankton (phyto- and zooplankton). This ranking order is associated with constraints to the movement of macrozoobenthos within the seabed compared with the pelagic habitat. We showed that dispersal limitation similarly determines the connectivity degree of communities and populations, supporting the predictions of neutral theories in marine biodiversity patterns.RADIALES (IEO)Versión del edito

Protocolos RADMED (versión: 1.01 – 2014). Procedimientos a seguir en las campañas del proyecto RADMED

Los protocolos RADMED se pueden considerar como una guía de mar de las operaciones a realizar en el desarrollo de una campaña de ese proyecto, en donde figuran: el montaje del equipamiento científico, las secuencias de las diferentes operaciones y muestreos, la identificación de las estaciones, cómo rellenar los diferentes estadillos, las determinaciones de variables oceanográficas a bordo y el post-procesado de los datos hidrográficos. Detrás de todo ello está la intención de homogeneizar la información, para facilitar el post-procesado y el fiel tratamiento de las muestras y análisis.[Abstract] The RADMED protocols can be considered as a guide to work at the sea in the development of a campaign of this project and to conduct its different operations. They include: installation of scientific equipment, the sequences of the different operations and sampling, identification of stations, the filling of the various work sheets, determinations of oceanographic variables on board and the post processing of hydrographic data. All this pretend to standardize the information to facilitate post processing and accurate treatment of the samples and analysis