Development of Bacterial Biofilms on Artificial Corals in Comparison to Surface-Associated Microbes of Hard Corals

Numerous studies have demonstrated the differences in bacterial communities associated with corals versus those in their surrounding environment. However, these environmental samples often represent vastly different microbial micro-environments with few studies having looked at the settlement and growth of bacteria on surfaces similar to corals. As a result, it is difficult to determine which bacteria are associated specifically with coral tissue surfaces. In this study, early stages of passive settlement from the water column to artificial coral surfaces (formation of a biofilm) were assessed. Changes in bacterial diversity (16S rRNA gene), were studied on artificially created resin nubbins that were modelled from the skeleton of the reef building coral Acropora muricata. These models were dip-coated in sterile agar, mounted in situ on the reef and followed over time to monitor bacterial community succession. The bacterial community forming the biofilms remained significantly different (R = 0.864 p<0.05) from that of the water column and from the surface mucus layer (SML) of the coral at all times from 30 min to 96 h. The water column was dominated by members of the α-proteobacteria, the developed community on the biofilms dominated by γ-proteobacteria, whereas that within the SML was composed of a more diverse array of groups. Bacterial communities present within the SML do not appear to arise from passive settlement from the water column, but instead appear to have become established through a selection process. This selection process was shown to be dependent on some aspects of the physico-chemical structure of the settlement surface, since agar-coated slides showed distinct communities to coral-shaped surfaces. However, no significant differences were found between different surface coatings, including plain agar and agar enhanced with coral mucus exudates. Therefore future work should consider physico-chemical surface properties as factors governing change in microbial diversity

Energetic and exergetic analyses of a R134a ejector by a CFD approach

International audienceno abstrac

Turbulence modeling of a single-phase R134a supersonic ejector. Part 1: Numerical benchmark

International audienceThe present work reports a numerical analysis of a supersonic ejector in single-phase conditions using R134a as the working fluid. A numerical benchmark of some thermodynamic and two-equation turbulence models has been carried out to highlight the numerical model offering the best compromise between accuracy and calculation cost. The validation is achieved by comparing the predicted entrainment ratio with the experimental data of Garcia del Valle et al. (2014). The k−ω SST model together with the REFPROP 7.0 database equation appears to be the best combination to predict accurately the ejector performance and capture the shock wave structure. The influence of the outlet temperature, the discussion about the validity of some assumptions made by one-dimensional (1D) models and the exergy analysis within the ejector for the present operating conditions will later be discussed in Part 2 (Croquer et al., 2015)

Etude numérique d'un éjecteur monophasique fonctionnant au R-134a

International audienceno abstrac

Turbulence modeling of a single-phase R134a supersonic ejector. Part 2: Local flow structure and exergy analysis

International audienceThe present work is the second part of a numerical analysis of a supersonic ejector in single-phase conditions using R134a as the working fluid. In Part 1, a numerical benchmark of some thermodynamic and two-equation turbulence models has been carried out to highlight the numerical model offering the best compromise between accuracy and calculation cost. The validation was achieved by comparing the predicted entrainment ratio with the experimental data of Garcia del Valle et al. In this part, the ejector performance and local flow features are then investigated by a low-Reynolds number k−ω SST model for a wide range of outlet temperatures. Based on these accurate 2D numerical results, a discussion about the validity of the main assumptions usually made by 1D thermodynamic models is then offered. Finally, an exergy analysis is performed at various characteristic sections of the ejector to determine its global efficiency and shed light on the main sources of losses

A change in coral extension rates and stable isotopes after El Niño-induced coral bleaching and regional stress events.

Coral reefs are biologically diverse ecosystems threatened with effective collapse under rapid climate change, in particular by recent increases in ocean temperatures. Coral bleaching has occurred during major El Niño warming events, at times leading to the die-off of entire coral reefs. Here we present records of stable isotopic composition, Sr/Ca ratios and extension rate (1940-2004) in coral aragonite from a northern Venezuelan site, where reefs were strongly impacted by bleaching following the 1997-98 El Niño. We assess the impact of past warming events on coral extension rates and geochemical proxies. A marked decrease in coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) extension rates coincides with a baseline shift to more negative values in oxygen and carbon isotopic composition after 1997-98, while a neighboring coral (Siderastrea siderea) recovered to pre-bleaching extension rates simultaneously. However, other stressors, besides high temperature, might also have influenced coral physiology and geochemistry. Coastal Venezuelan reefs were exposed to a series of extreme environmental fluctuations since the mid-1990s, i.e. upwelling, extreme rainfall and sediment input from landslides. This work provides important new data on the potential impacts of multiple regional stress events on coral isotopic compositions and raises questions about the long-term influence on coral-based paleoclimate reconstructions