The search for the Jew's gene : science, spectacle, and the ethnic other

This paper considers the collision of spectacle, science, and racial-ethnic identifications in the contemporary scientific search for a "Jewish gene." It aims not so much to distinguish the "line between ‘real’ and ‘fabled’ aspects of the Jew" (as cited in the passage by Gilman above), but to consider the inextricability of both as composite elements, mutually constituting "difference" as racial-ethnic identification. Thus I am concerned with the specular economies of science as well as the knowledge capital of its mediatisation as they come together, troubled, over the Jew’s body. The essay takes as its case study the National Geographic (NOVA/PBS) television documentary, The Sons of Abraham, a film that follows the progress of anthropologist Tudor Parfitt through the Lemba communities of South Africa in a quest to obtain genetic evidence in order to authenticate (or falsify) their claims to Jewish identity

KRILLBASE: a circumpolar database of Antarctic krill and salp numerical densities, 1926-2016

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and salps are major macroplankton contributors to Southern Ocean food webs and krill are also fished commercially. Managing this fishery sustainably, against a backdrop of rapid regional climate change, requires information on distribution and time trends. Many data on the abundance of both taxa have been obtained from net sampling surveys since 1926, but much of this is stored in national archives, sometimes only in notebooks. In order to make these important data accessible we have collated available abundance data (numerical density, no. m(-2)) of postlarval E. superba and salp individual (multiple species, and whether singly or in chains). These were combined into a central database, KRILLBASE, together with environmental information, standardisation and metadata. The aim is to provide a temporal-spatial data resource to support a variety of research such as biogeochemistry, autecology, higher predator foraging and food web modelling in addition to fisheries management and conservation. Previous versions of KRILLBASE have led to a series of papers since 2004 which illustrate some of the potential uses of this database. With increasing numbers of requests for these data we here provide an updated version of KRILLBASE that contains data from 15 194 net hauls, including 12 758 with krill abundance data and 9726 with salp abundance data. These data were collected by 10 nations and span 56 seasons in two epochs (1926-1939 and 1976-2016). Here, we illustrate the seasonal, inter-annual, regional and depth coverage of sampling, and provide both circumpolar-and regional-scale distribution maps. Krill abundance data have been standardised to accommodate variation in sampling methods, and we have presented these as well as the raw data. Information is provided on how to screen, interpret and use KRILLBASE to reduce artefacts in interpretation, with contact points for the main data providers

Krill biomass and aggregation structure in relation to tidal cycle in a penguin foraging region off the Western Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic krill are a key component of the diet of Adlie penguins inhabiting the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), yet our understanding of the variability of krill distribution patterns within nearshore penguin feeding grounds is limited. A recent study of the foraging patterns of penguins breeding in the northern WAP suggests that tidal phase plays a role in foraging distance. We used acoustics to examine biomass and aggregation structure of krill in the penguin foraging grounds off Palmer Station during diurnal and semi-diurnal tides. Nearshore, integrated krill biomass during diurnal tides was significantly higher than during semi-diurnal tides. Krill aggregations were also shallower, closer together, and larger in dimension during diurnal tides. Conversely, krill aggregations had higher volumetric biomass and abundance during semi-diurnal tides. Further offshore, at the head of the Palmer Deep canyon, krill aggregations were similar to those observed nearshore during diurnal tides (i.e. shallow, close together, and large in dimension). Since krill aggregation structure strongly influences availability as a potential prey source, we suggest that foraging behavior of Adlie penguins in this region is strongly linked to the variability in nearshore krill aggregation structure as well as biomass

Abundance, Composition, and Sinking Rates of Fish Fecal Pellets in the Santa Barbara Channel

Rapidly sinking fecal pellets are an important component of the vertical flux of particulate organic matter (POM) from the surface to the ocean\u27s interior; however, few studies have examined the role fish play in this export. We determined abundance, size, prey composition, particulate organic carbon/nitrogen (POC/PON), and sinking rates of fecal pellets produced by a forage fish, likely the northern anchovy, in the Santa Barbara Channel. Pellet abundance ranged from 0.1-5.9 pellets m(-3). POC and PON contents averaged 21.7 mu g C pellet(-1) and 2.7 mu g N pellet(-1). The sinking rate averaged 787 m d(-1); thus pellets produced at the surface would reach the benthos (similar to 500 m) in m(-2) d(-1). This is equal to or exceeds previous measurements of sediment trap POM flux, and thus may transport significant amounts of repackaged surface material to depth

The microbial and metazoan community associated with colonies of Trichodesmium spp.: a quantitative survey

Association with resource-rich particles may benefit a number of planktonic species in oligotriphic, open-ocean regimes. This study examined communities of microbes and Zooplankton associated with colonies of the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium spp. in the Sargasso Sea. Trichodesmium colonies and seawater controls were collected near Bermuda using SCUBA during September 1995, and June, July and August 1996. Organisms associated with the colonies and those in the surrounding seawater were enumerated using light and fluorescence microscopy. We found that 85% of the Trichodesmium puff and tuft colonies examined harbored associated organisms. Associated organisms included bacteria (rod and coccoid),fungi, pennate diatoms, centric diatoms, heterotrophic and autotriphic dinoflagellates, chrysophytes, hypotrich ciliates, amoebae, hydroids, juveniles and nauplii of harpacticoid copepods, and juvenile decapods. The most common associates (in addition to bacteria) were dinoflagellates (present in 74% of the colonies examined), amoebae (50%), ciliates (24%), and diatoms (24%). Numbers of bacteria per colony volume averaged 8.2x10(8) bacteria ml(-1) (range = 8.1x10(7) -3.5x10(9) bacteria ml(-1)), and the density of associated microzooplankton and metazoans averaged 6.8x10(4) organisms ml(-1) (range = 0-3.6-10(6) organisms ml-1). Associates of Tichodesmium colonies were enriched by two to five orders of magnitude over plankton in the surrounding water. This unique habitat allows for the association of primarily benthic ciliate, diatom and copepod species and could contribute significantly to plankton heterogeneity in the open-ocean. The distribution of associated organisms was affected by sample characteristics such as colony morphology, mucoid matrix structure and colony integrity. The influence of these factors indicates that succession or competition between heterotrophic microorganisms ultimately determines Tichodesmium microcommunity structure. Similar processes could regulate microbial and metazoan communities associated with other resource-rich microenvironments, such as marine snow particles

Copepod summer grazing and fecal pellet production along theWestern Antarctic Peninsula

Copepods are important grazers on phytoplankton and contributors to carbon export, but their role is poorly understood in theWestern Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), a region of high productivity and rapid climate warming. We conducted grazing and egestion experiments with large, dominant copepods each January from 2012 to 2014. We found higher gut evacuation rates (k), initial gut pigment and ingestion rates (I) for Calanus propinquus and Rhincalanus gigas compared with Calanoides acutus. Since k and I linearly increased with chlorophyll a for most species, ingestion rates were 4-70 times greater in more productive coastal regions than offshore, slope waters. Copepods have a low grazing impact on phytoplankton biomass (\u3c 1%) and productivity (1%, up to 11%) compared with the dominant WAP macro-and microzooplankton. Egestion rates were high (0.8-37.3 mu gC ind.(-1) day(-1)); however, similar to 58% of fecal pellets are retained in the upper water column. Daily carbon rations of similar to 1% indicated feeding on other carbon sources (protozoans and metazoans) to meet metabolic demands. However, during a coastal phytoplankton bloom, daily C rations increased to up to 13%, indicating increased reliance on phytoplankton. Future changes in theWAP plankton community may affect food web carbon flow and export

Two Decades Of Pelagic Ecology Of The Western Antarctic Peninsula

Significant strides in our understanding of the marine pelagic ecosystem of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region have been made over the past two decades, resulting from research conducted aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould and RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. These advances range from an understanding of the physical forcing on biology, to food web ecology (from microbes to top predators), to biogeochemical cycling, often in the larger context of rapid climate warming in the region. The proximity of the WAP to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and WAP continental shelf bathymetry affects the hydrography and helps structure the biological community. Seasonal, spatial, and interannual variability at all levels of the food web, as well as the mechanisms supporting their production, are now more clearly understood. New tools and technologies employed in the region were critical for making this research possible. As a result, our knowledge of the WAP pelagic ecosystem during a time of rapid climate change has vastly improved

Long-term increase in mesozooplankton biomass in the Sargasso Sea: Linkage to climate and implications for food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycling

Changes in zooplankton biomass and species composition over long time scales can have significant effects on biogeochemical cycling and transfer of energy to higher trophic levels. We analyzed size-fractionated mesozooplankton biomass (\u3e200 mu m) from biweekly to monthly day and night tows taken from 1994 to 2010 in the epipelagic zone at the Bermuda Atlantic Time series Study (BATS) site in the oligotrophic North Atlantic subtropical gyre. During this 17-year period total mesozooplankton biomass increased 61% overall, although a few short-term downturns occurred over the course of the time series. The overall increase was higher in the nighttime compared to daytime, resulting in an increase in calculated diel vertical migrator biomass. The largest seasonal increase in total biomass was in the late-winter to spring (February-April). Associated with the larger increase in late-winter/spring biomass was a shift in the timing of annual peak biomass during the latter half of the time series (from March/April to a distinct March peak for all size fractions combined, and April to March for the 2-5 mm size fractions). Zooplankton biomass was positively correlated with sea-surface temperature, water column stratification, and primary production, and negatively correlated with mean temperature between 300 and 600 m. Significant correlations exist between multidecadal climate indices-the North Atlantic Oscillation plus three different Pacific Ocean climate indices, and BATS zooplankton biomass, indicating connections between patterns in climate forcing and ecosystem response. Resultant changes in biogeochemical cycling include an increase in the magnitude of both active carbon flux by diel vertical migration and passive carbon flux of fecal pellets as components of the export flux. The most likely mechanism driving the zooplankton biomass increase is bottom-up control by smaller phytoplankton, which has also increased in biomass and production at BATS, translating up the microbial food web into mesozooplankton. Decreases in top-down control or expansion of the range of tropical species northward as a result of warming may also play a role

Cloud shadows drive vertical migrations of deep-dwelling marine life

Our study provides evidence that, in addition to diel vertical migration, zooplankton residing at \u3e300-m depth during the day perform high-frequency, vertical migrations due to light modulation by clouds. Using a water-following framework and measurements and modeling of the twilight zone light field, we isolated the detailed phototactic response and show that some twilight zone animals are considerably more active than previously thought, with a cumulative distance traveled of more than one-third of that for diel migration. The increased movement increases predation risk and has implications for the metabolic requirements of these animals in the food-limited deep sea