An unusual occurrence of Nautilus macromphalus in a cenote in the Loyalty Islands (New Caledonia)

Exploration of a landlocked cenote on Lifou (Loyalty Islands) revealed 37 shells of the cephalopod Nautilus macromphalus Sowerby, 1849, in saltwater on the cenote floor, approximately 40 m below the water surface. The occurrence of these shells is unusual because N. macromphalus is restricted to the open marine waters surrounding the island. All of the shells are mature, and nearly all of them are unbroken, with faded red-brown color stripes. We analyzed seven shells to determine their age. Radiocarbon dating yielded ages of 6380¡30 to 7095¡30 y BP. The 238U-series radionuclides 210Pb (half-life 522.3 y) and 226Ra (half-life 51600 y) also were measured. Two of the samples showed radioactive equilibrium between the nuclides, consistent with the old radiocarbon dates, but the other five samples showed excess 210Pb. When corrected for radioactive decay, the 226Ra activities were much greater than those found in living Nautilus. We conclude that exposure to high activities of 222Rn and 226Ra in the salty groundwater of the cenote altered the activities originally incorporated into the shells. Human placement of the shells in the cavity is rejected based on their radiocarbon age and the geometry of the cenote. The most probable explanation is that the animals entered the flooded karstic system through a connection on the seaward side at approximately 7,000 y BP, during an interval of slowly rising sea level. Unable to find an exit and/or due to anoxic bottom waters, the animals were trapped and died inside. The open connection with the sea persisted for ,700 y, but after ,6400 y BP, the connection was lost, probably due to a roof collapse. This is a rare example of Nautilus in a karstic coastal basin and provides a minimum age for the appearance of N. macromphalus in the Loyalty Islands

Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera : Calcarea)

Although the French Polynesian reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world, sponges are still poorly known, with only 199 species or OTUs of sponges having been described from French Polynesia, 167 at an OTU level and 32 at a species level. From those 199 species, just five are calcareous sponges. As it is possible that this number is underestimated, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia. Hence, different French Polynesian archipelagos were surveyed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of depth. Identifications were performed using morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools. We found a total of nine species of Calcarea, comprising five different genera. Five species are new to science: Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., and Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. With the present work, the number of identified sponges from French Polynesia at a species level increased from 32 to 41. The only calcareous sponge previously known from French Polynesia that was recollected by our group was Leucetta chagosensis. Our results suggest that the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms Four species supported these affinities: Ascandra cf. crewsi, previously known only from Papua New Guinea, Leucascus simplex from South Australia, and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis, both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific. These two Leucetta species, however, most likely represent species complexes. Once again the molecular markers ITS and C-LSU helped in the identification of calcareous sponges, showing how important is an integrative taxonomy. Although our work has increased in 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) the diversity of calcareous sponges in French Polynesia, it is most possible that this number is still underestimated

Neogene terrestrial sediments: a record of the post-obduction history of New Caledonia

International audienceThe poorly studied iron-rich terrestrial sediments, referred to as the Fluvio-lacustrine Formation, that cropout in the southern part of the Grande Terre of New Caledonia document the last 25 Ma of thegeological history of the island. The age of this formation, which is mainly derived from the erosion of anultramafic regolith, is not tightly constrained yet; however, it has recorded several episodes of postobductionerosion and sedimentary infill preceded and followed by weathering and reactivatederosion. A correlation with early Miocene slab break-off, which may have triggered a first stage oferosion marked by coarse conglomerate, is suggested. Thereafter, sediments filled topographic lowsand were in turn weathered during an interval of tectonic quiescence. Finally, Holocene sea-level dropand southward tilt of southern New Caledonia, owing to the involvement of eastern Australian Plate inthe New Hebrides (Vanuatu) subduction zone, locally changed the drainage pattern and deeplyeroded the sediments

New antiplasmodial Bromotyrosine derivatives from Suberea ianthelliformis Lendenfeld, 1888

Four samples of Suberea ianthelliformis were investigated and furnished five new and 13 known brominated tyrosine-derived compounds. Two of the new compounds were identified as araplysillin N20-formamide and its N-oxide derivative. Three other new compounds, araplysillins IV, V, and VI, were isolated and identified as analogs of araplysillin II. Most of these compounds exhibit moderate inhibitory activities against chloroquine-resistant and -sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum, and were investigated for their PFTase inhibitory properties. The chemical content of the investigated sponges is correlated with their molecular phylogeny

Multi-users of a Product: Emergence of Contradictions

Part 4: TRIZ and FunctionsInternational audienceThe use of the product is randomly taken into account in the final phase of the design process, which leads to certain iterations and difficulty in use.Generally, the designer has taken into account customer requirements without really knowing the end user, sometimes our end users.By analyzing the different users, it is a question of measuring the functionality of the product for each of them. The various functional analyses must take into account the needs of all these users. Thus, it is necessary to identify: the expectations and cognitive barriers of each user in a competitive environment and to consider the evolution of the use and performance of the product and its interaction with its users.In this article, it’s about listing the product features for each user case. The different functional analyzes must present the expectations for each use case. Thus, in an order of the product use life cycle, it is necessary to identify the purposes and behaviors of users and the level of constraint of each feature. By comparing the functions between them, it is a question of identifying the contradictions or not that can have an effect on the design of the product. A concrete example (baby car seat), is proposed in this article in order to target the different users from the functions and to identify the contradictions that can be resolved by the TRIZ principle