167 research outputs found
Deterministic and stochastic influence of nutrients on phytoplankton function and structure in coastal waters
Knowledge of how phytoplankton responds to nutrient inputs is essential for water management and for minimizing eutrophication. Only processes that are deterministic, i.e. that can respond as algorithms, are controllable. The study area is the chain of inshore waters (so-called Bodden) south of the Darss-Zingst peninsula - shallow eutrophic waters of estuarine character in the Southern Baltic. Monitoring programmes and laboratory experiments have revealed an annual periodicity of the phytoplankton and of the physico-chemical factors influencing it. On the basis of these results, experiments were carried out in enclosures to study the effects of nutrient loading on phytoplankton. The purpose was to test the feasibility of influencing phytoplankton development under field conditions during the transition period from late spring to mid-summer. This contribution presents results from the 1985 shallow water enclosure experiments (FLAK 85) which demonstrate that
- the scale of phytoplankton reactions and the species involved are stochastic in character and are governed by stochastic interactions between meteorological events and water exchange processes in the chain of Bodden;
- all processes affecting phytoplankton growth are deterministic in character, conforming to simple batch theories: simultaneous addition of nitrogen and phosphorus favours green algae, and in exceptional cases one algal species became dominant;
- nutrient loadings do not affect the time of transition to the mid-summer phytoplankton population, the most important regulating factor obviously being temperature
Metabolism and foraging strategies of midâlatitude mesozooplankton during cyanobacterial blooms as revealed by fatty acids, amino acids, and their stable carbon isotopes
Increasing sea surface temperatures (SST) and blooms of lipidâpoor, filamentous cyanobacteria can change mesozooplankton metabolism and foraging strategies in marine systems. Lipid shortage and imbalanced diet may challenge the buildâup of energy pools of lipids and proteins, and access to essential fatty acids (FAs) and amino acids (AAs) by copepods. The impact of cyanobacterial blooms on individual energy pools was assessed for key species temperate Temora longicornis and boreal Pseudoâ/Paracalanus spp. that dominated field mesozooplankton communities isolated by seaâsonal stratification in the central Baltic Sea during the hot and the cold summer. We looked at (a) total lipid and protein levels, (b) FA trophic markers and AA composition, and (c) compoundâspecific stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) in bulk mesozooplankton and in a subset of parameters in particulate organic matter. Despite lipidâpoor cyanobacterial blooms, the key species were largely able to cover both energy pools, yet a tendency of lipid reduction was observed in surface animals. Omniâ and carânivory feeding modes, FA trophic makers, and δ13C patterns in essential compounds emphasized that cyanobacterial FAs and AAs have been incorporated into mesoâzooplankton mainly via feeding on mixoâ and heterotrophic (dinoâ) flagellates and detrital complexes during summer. Foraging for essential highly unsaturated FAs from (dinoâ) flagellates may have caused night migration of Pseudoâ/Paracalanus spp. from the deep subhalocline waters into the upper waters. Only in the hot summer (SST>19.0°C) was T. longicornis submerged in the colder subthermocline water (~4°C). Thus, the continuous warming trend and simultaneous feeding can eventually lead to competition on the preferred diet by key copepod species below the thermocline in stratified systems. A comparison of δ13C patterns of essential AAs in surface mesoâzooplankton across subâbasins of low and high cyanobacterial biomasses revealed the potential of δ13CâAA isoscapes for studies of commercial fish feeding trails across the Baltic Sea food webs
Nikola VranjeĹĄ, Na pragu vjeÄnosti. PromiĹĄljanja o pastoralu umiruÄih, Glas Koncila, Zagreb, 2015.
Biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nutrients, and oxygen transmit mean states, trends and variations of the physical realm in coastal upwelling systems to their food webs and determine their role in regional budgets of greenhouse gases. This contribution focuses on biogeochemical processes in the northern Benguela Upwelling System (NBUS), where low oxygen levels in upwelling source water are a major influence on carbon and nutrient cycles. Based on measurements during numerous expeditions and results of 3-D regional ecosystem modeling (project GENUS; Geochemistry and Ecology of the Namibian Upwelling System) we here examine source water character, effects of low oxygen conditions on nutrient masses and ratios, and of diazotrophic N2-fixation on productivity of the system and its transition to the adjacent eastern South Atlantic. In available observations, the effects of denitrification in water and sediment and phosphate release from sediments are minor influences on nitrate:phosphate ratios of the system, and excess phosphate in aged upwelling water is inherited from upwelling source water. Contrary to expectation and model results, the low N:P ratios do not trigger diazotrophic N2-fixation in the fringes of the upwelling system, possibly due to a lack of seeding populations of Trichodesmium. We also examine the flux of carbon from the sea surface to either sediment, the adjacent sub-thermocline ocean, or to regenerated nutrients and CO2. Observed fluxes out of the surface mixed layer are significantly below modeled fluxes, and suggest that regeneration of nutrients and CO2 is unusually intense in the mixed layer. This contributes to very high fluxes of CO2 from the ocean to the regional atmosphere, which is not compensated for by N2-fixation. Based on observations, the NBUS thus is a significant net CO2 source (estimated at 14.8 Tg C aâ 1), whereas the CO2 balance is closed by N2-fixation in the model. Methane concentrations were low in surface waters in on-line measurements during 1 expedition, and based on these our estimate for the emission of methane for the entire Benguela system is below 0.2 Tg CH4 aâ 1
Controls on zooplankton methane production in the central Baltic Sea
Several methanogenic
pathways in oxic surface waters were recently discovered, but their relevance
in the natural environment is still unknown. Our study examines distinct
methane (CH4) enrichments that repeatedly occur below the thermocline during the
summer months in the central Baltic Sea. In agreement with previous studies
in this region, we discovered differences in the methane distributions
between the western and eastern Gotland Basin, pointing to in situ methane
production below the thermocline in the latter (concentration of CH4â
14.1Âą6.1 nM, δ13C CH4 â62.9 â°). Through
the use of a high-resolution hydrographic model of the Baltic Sea, we showed
that methane below the thermocline can be transported by upwelling events
towards the sea surface, thus contributing to the methane flux at the
seaâair interface. To quantify zooplankton-associated methane production
rates, we developed a sea-going methane stripping-oxidation line to determine
methane release rates from copepods grazing on 14C-labelled
phytoplankton. We found that (1)Â methane production increased with the number
of copepods, (2)Â higher methane production rates were measured in incubations
with Temora longicornis (125Âą49 fmol methane copepodâ1 dâ1) than in incubations with
Acartia spp. (84Âą19 fmol CH4 copepodâ1 dâ1) dominated zooplankton
communities, and (3)Â methane was only produced on a Rhodomonas sp.
diet, and not on a cyanobacteria diet. Furthermore, copepod-specific methane
production rates increased with incubation time. The latter finding suggests
that methanogenic substrates for water-dwelling microbes are released by cell
disruption during feeding, defecation, or diffusion from fecal pellets. In
the field, particularly high methane concentrations coincided with stations
showing a high abundance of DMSP/DMSO-rich Dinophyceae. Lipid biomarkers extracted
from phytoplankton- and copepod-rich samples revealed that Dinophyceae are a
major food source of the T. longicornis dominated zooplankton
community, supporting the proposed link between copepod grazing, DMSP/DMSO
release, and the build-up of subthermocline methane enrichments in the
central Baltic Sea.</p
Transitions in bacterial communities along the 2000 km salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea
Salinity is a major factor controlling the distribution of biota in aquatic systems, and most aquatic multicellular organisms are either adapted to life in saltwater or freshwater conditions. Consequently, the saltwaterâfreshwater mixing zones in coastal or estuarine areas are characterized by limited faunal and floral diversity. Although changes in diversity and decline in species richness in brackish waters is well documented in aquatic ecology, it is unknown to what extent this applies to bacterial communities. Here, we report a first detailed bacterial inventory from vertical profiles of 60 sampling stations distributed along the salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea, one of world's largest brackish water environments, generated using 454 pyrosequencing of partial (400âbp) 16S rRNA genes. Within the salinity gradient, bacterial community composition altered at broad and finer-scale phylogenetic levels. Analogous to faunal communities within brackish conditions, we identified a bacterial brackish water community comprising a diverse combination of freshwater and marine groups, along with populations unique to this environment. As water residence times in the Baltic Sea exceed 3 years, the observed bacterial community cannot be the result of mixing of fresh water and saltwater, but our study represents the first detailed description of an autochthonous brackish microbiome. In contrast to the decline in the diversity of multicellular organisms, reduced bacterial diversity at brackish conditions could not be established. It is possible that the rapid adaptation rate of bacteria has enabled a variety of lineages to fill what for higher organisms remains a challenging and relatively unoccupied ecological niche
An electrogenic redox loop in sulfate reduction reveals a likely widespread mechanism of energy conservation
The bioenergetics of anaerobic metabolism frequently relies on redox loops performed by membrane complexes with substrate- and quinone-binding sites on opposite sides of the membrane. However, in sulfate respiration (a key process in the biogeochemical sulfur cycle), the substrate- and quinone-binding sites of the QrcABCD complex are periplasmic, and their role in energy conservation has not been elucidated. Here we show that the QrcABCD complex of Desulfovibrio vulgaris is electrogenic, as protons and electrons required for quinone reduction are extracted from opposite sides of the membrane, with a H+/eâ ratio of 1. Although the complex does not act as a H+-pump, QrcD may include a conserved proton channel leading from the N-side to the P-side menaquinone pocket. Our work provides evidence of how energy is conserved during dissimilatory sulfate reduction, and suggests mechanisms behind the functions of related bacterial respiratory complexes in other bioenergetic contexts
Heart rate variability (HRV) and muscular system activity (EMG) in cases of crash threat during simulated driving of a passenger car
Objectives: The aim of the study was to verify whether simultaneous responses from the muscular and circulatory system occur in the driver's body under simulated conditions of a crash threat. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in a passenger car driving simulator. The crash was included in the driving test scenario developed in an urban setting. In the group of 22 young male subjects, two physiological signals - ECG and EMG were continuously recorded. The length of the RR interval in the ECG signal was assessed. A HRV analysis was performed in the time and frequency domains for 1-minute record segments at rest (seated position), during undisturbed driving as well as during and several minutes after the crash. For the left and right side muscles: m. trapezius (TR) and m. flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), the EMG signal amplitude was determined. The percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was compared during driving and during the crash. Results: As for the ECG signal, it was found that in most of the drivers changes occurred in the parameter values reflecting HRV in the time domain. Significant changes were noted in the mean length of RR intervals (mRR). As for the EMG signal, the changes in the amplitude concerned the signal recorded from the FDS muscle. The changes in ECG and EMG were simultaneous in half of the cases. Conclusion: Such parameters as mRR (ECG signal) and FDS-L amplitude (EMG signal) were the responses to accident risk. Under simulated conditions, responses from the circulatory and musculoskeletal systems are not always simultaneous. The results indicate that a more complete driver's response to a crash in road traffic is obtained based on parallel recording of two physiological signals (ECG and EMG)
Climate change effects on phytoplankton depend on cell size and food web structure
We investigated the effects of warming on a natural phytoplankton community from the Baltic Sea, based on six mesocosm experiments conducted 2005â2009. We focused on differences in the dynamics of three phytoplankton size groups which are grazed to a variable extent by different zooplankton groups. While small-sized algae were mostly grazer-controlled, light and nutrient availability largely determined the growth of medium- and large-sized algae. Thus, the latter groups dominated at increased light levels. Warming increased mesozooplankton grazing on medium-sized algae, reducing their biomass. The biomass of small-sized algae was not affected by temperature, probably due to an interplay between indirect effects spreading through the food web. Thus, under the higher temperature and lower light levels anticipated for the next decades in the southern Baltic Sea, a higher share of smaller phytoplankton is expected. We conclude that considering the size structure of the phytoplankton community strongly improves the reliability of projections of climate change effects
The Mediterranean Sea Regime Shift at the End of the 1980s, and Intriguing Parallelisms with Other European Basins
Background: Regime shifts are abrupt changes encompassing a multitude of physical properties and ecosystem variables,
which lead to new regime conditions. Recent investigations focus on the changes in ecosystem diversity and functioning
associated to such shifts. Of particular interest, because of the implication on climate drivers, are shifts that occur
synchronously in separated basins.
Principal Findings: In this work we analyze and review long-term records of Mediterranean ecological and hydro-climate variables and find that all point to a synchronous change in the late 1980s. A quantitative synthesis of the literature (including observed oceanic data, models and satellite analyses) shows that these years mark a major change in Mediterranean hydrographic properties, surface circulation, and deep water convection (the Eastern Mediterranean Transient). We provide novel analyses that link local, regional and basin scale hydrological properties with two major indicators of large scale climate, the North Atlantic Oscillation index and the Northern Hemisphere Temperature index, suggesting that the Mediterranean shift is part of a large scale change in the Northern Hemisphere. We provide a simplified scheme of the different effects of climate vs. temperature on pelagic ecosystems.
Conclusions: Our results show that the Mediterranean Sea underwent a major change at the end of the 1980s that
encompassed atmospheric, hydrological, and ecological systems, for which it can be considered a regime shift. We further provide evidence that the local hydrography is linked to the larger scale, northern hemisphere climate. These results suggest that the shifts that affected the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean (this work) Seas at the end of the 1980s, that have been so far only partly associated, are likely linked as part a northern hemisphere change. These findings bear wide implications for the development of climate change scenarios, as synchronous shifts may provide the key for distinguishing local (i.e., basin) anthropogenic drivers, such as eutrophication or fishing, from larger scale (hemispheric) climate drivers
Status of Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea
The brackish Baltic Sea hosts species of various origins and environmental tolerances. These immigrated to the sea 10,000 to 15,000 years ago or have been introduced to the area over the relatively recent history of the system. The Baltic Sea has only one known endemic species. While information on some abiotic parameters extends back as long as five centuries and first quantitative snapshot data on biota (on exploited fish populations) originate generally from the same time, international coordination of research began in the early twentieth century. Continuous, annual Baltic Sea-wide long-term datasets on several organism groups (plankton, benthos, fish) are generally available since the mid-1950s. Based on a variety of available data sources (published papers, reports, grey literature, unpublished data), the Baltic Sea, incl. Kattegat, hosts altogether at least 6,065 species, including at least 1,700 phytoplankton, 442 phytobenthos, at least 1,199 zooplankton, at least 569 meiozoobenthos, 1,476 macrozoobenthos, at least 380 vertebrate parasites, about 200 fish, 3 seal, and 83 bird species. In general, but not in all organism groups, high sub-regional total species richness is associated with elevated salinity. Although in comparison with fully marine areas the Baltic Sea supports fewer species, several facets of the system's diversity remain underexplored to this day, such as micro-organisms, foraminiferans, meiobenthos and parasites. In the future, climate change and its interactions with multiple anthropogenic forcings are likely to have major impacts on the Baltic biodiversity
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