Experimental evaluation of nutrient limitation of phytoplankton communities in the Gulf of Riga

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/09247963Phytoplankton nutrient limitation was studied in the Gulf of Riga during spring bloom April 1995., early summer stage June 1994., cyanobacterial bloom July 1994. and post cyanobacterial bloom August 1993.. Each year six factorial nutrient enrichment experiments were carried out in various locations in the Gulf; including outer Irbe Strait, northern Gulf and southern Gulf. The responses of natural phytoplankton communities to the nutrient additions 80 mg NH4-N ly1, 20 mg PO4-P ly1 and two levels of combined additions. were followed for 3 days using 6 l experimental units. To evaluate the nutrient limitation patterns, time series of chlorophyll a were analysed using polynomial regression models and ranking method, taking advantage of the relatively constant experimental error. Apparent nutrient depletion rates and ratios were estimated, and compared with the changes in particulate nutrient ratios. During the spring diatom bloom in 1995, ambient inorganic nutrient concentrations were still high, and thus phytoplankton biomass did not respond to additions of nutrients. Chlorophyll a specific nutrient depletion rates were low 0.01-0.12 mg Nmg chl a.y1 hy1 and 0.002-0.016 mg P mg chl a.y1 hy1. and linear over time, thus also revealing that phytoplankton was not limited by these nutrients in that time. In June 1994, there was an areal shift from N limitation in the outer Irbe Strait towards co-limitation in the southern Gulf. Later in July 1994, during the bloom of N-fixing Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, the N limitation was obvious for the whole study area. For this period chlorophyll a specific nutrient depletion rates were high 0.360.67 mg N mg chl a.y1 hy1 and 0.089-0.135 mg Pmg chl a.y1 hy1., and added nutrients were almost totally depleted during the first light period. After the collapse of cyanobacterial bloom in August 1993, the experiment carried out in the southern Gulf indicated P limitation of phytoplankton. The central Gulf was obviously co-limited, while the area between northern Gulf and outer Irbe Strait was N-limited. Our results indicate that phytoplankton in the Gulf of Riga, earlier considered strictly as P-limited, is at least until late-summer period N- or co-limited. It seems also obvious that there exists a spatial tendency in the phytoplankton limitation patterns, generally from more P- or co-limited southern Gulf towards more N-limited northern basin

Applying Interconnected Game Theory to Analyze Transboundary Waters: A Case Study of the Kura-Araks Basin

A number of environmental problems are international in nature, including many water management issues. Rivers, for example, do not recognize political boundaries. Therefore, pollution generated in one country can affect neighboring countries, while water extraction in an upstream country can affect water flow and water availability in a downstream country. The situation creates an interdependency among countries, which might lead to disputes over the management of transboundary water. Therefore, coordination among the countries is necessary for effective management of these transboundary resources. The focus of a recently published study (Khachaturyan and Schoengold, 2018) is the transboundary Kura-Araks Basin (see Figure 1 for its location), which is a major river system in the South Caucasus, with about 11 million people living in the basin. The countries in the basin are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey, with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia having over 80 percent of the streamflow. The Kura-Araks Basin is a primary source of water for agricultural, industrial, and municipal uses in the South Caucasian countries. The study determines whether there are economic benefits to be gained from cooperation in the management of the Kura River (shared between Azerbaijan and Georgia), and under what conditions cooperation is an achievable outcome. Azerbaijan withdraws about 35 percent of the total available renewable water resources while Georgia only withdraws about 3 percent

Phytoplankton pigments and dissolved organic matter distribution in the Gulf of Riga

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/09247963The results of field studies of phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter DOM.in the Gulf of Riga in August-September 1993, June 1994 and April 1995 are presented. Actively excited fluorescence in UV- and visible spectral regions was used to investigate spatial distributions of DOM, Chl a, carotenoids and phycoerythrin in surface water. The fluorescent data were collected by means of laser remote sensing spectrometer LIDAR., spectrofluorometers in underway flow-through mode and in the measurements of the water samples. Pronounced variable spatial structures of phytoplankton were observed in spring 1995 and late summer 1993, while in early summer 1994 the pigment distribution was rather homogeneous. The spatial modulation of high-resolution profiles of phytoplankton with the period 3.5-5 km was detected across the gulf in all seasons probably caused by variability of hydrophysical conditions. A negative correlation of DOM concentration in surface waters and salinity was revealed in August-September 1993 and June 1994

Loadings of dissolved organic matter and nutrients from the Neva River into the Gulf of Finland – Biogeochemical composition and spatial distribution within the salinity gradient

We studied the loadings of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and nutrients from the Neva River into the Eastern Gulf of Finland, as well as their distribution within the salinity gradient. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ranged from 390 to 840 μM, and were related to absorption of colored DOM (CDOM) at 350 nm, aCDOM(350), ranging from 2.70 to 17.8 m-1. With increasing salinity both DOC and aCDOM decreased, whereas the slope of aCDOM spectra, SCDOM(300-700), ranging from 14.3 to 21.2 μm-1, increased with salinity

Negative density-distribution relationship in butterflies

Peer reviewe

Evolution of predator dispersal in relation to spatio-temporal prey dynamics : how not to get stuck in the wrong place!

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Advantage of rare infanticide strategies in an invasion experiment of behavioural polymorphism

Killing conspecific infants (infanticide) is among the most puzzling phenomena in nature. Stable polymorphism in such behaviour could be maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection (benefit of rare types). However, it is currently unknown whether there is genetic polymorphism in infanticidal behaviour or whether infanticide may have any fitness advantages when rare. Here we show genetic polymorphism in non-parental infanticide. Our novel invasion experiment confirms negative frequency-dependent selection in wild bank vole populations, where resource benefits allow an infanticidal strategy to invade a population of non-infanticidal individuals. The results show that infanticidal behaviour is highly heritable with genetic correlation across the sexes. Thus, a positive correlative response in male behaviour is expected when selection operates on females only and vice versa. Our results, on one hand, demonstrate potential benefits of infanticide, and on the other, they open a new perspective of correlative evolution of infanticide in females and males

Can fisheries-induced evolution shift reference points for fisheries management?

Biological reference points are important tools for fisheries management. Reference points are not static, butmay change when a population's environment or the population itself changes. Fisheries-induced evolution is one mechanism that can alter population characteristics, leading to "shifting" reference points by modifying the underlying biological processes or by changing the perception of a fishery system. The former causes changes in "true" reference points, whereas the latter is caused by changes in the yardsticks used to quantify a system's status. Unaccounted shifts of either kind imply that reference points gradually lose their intended meaning. This can lead to increased precaution, which is safe, but potentially costly. Shifts can also occur in more perilous directions, such that actual risks are greater than anticipated. Our qualitative analysis suggests that all commonly used reference points are susceptible to shifting through fisheries-induced evolution, including the limit and "precautionary" reference points for spawning-stock biomass, B-lim and B-pa, and the target reference point for fishing mortality, F-0.1. Our findings call for increased awareness of fisheries-induced changes and highlight the value of always basing reference points on adequately updated information, to capture all changes in the biological processes that drive fish population dynamics

Copernicus Ocean State Report, issue 6

The 6th issue of the Copernicus OSR incorporates a large range of topics for the blue, white and green ocean for all European regional seas, and the global ocean over 1993–2020 with a special focus on 2020