The effect of vertical migration strategy on retention and dispersion in the Irish Sea during spring–summer

A biophysical model of the Irish Sea was produced to predict net horizontal movement of key taxa including small copepods (Acartia, Pseudocalanus), large copepod species (Calanus finmarchicus and C. helgolandicus), the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica, and the larval stages of commercially important fish and Nephrops. The model coupled biological information on the vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM) of these taxa with temporally resolved flow fields generated by a baroclinic hydrodynamic model. The DVM of Calanus spp. and Meganyctiphanes was parameterized empirically from data provided by a biophysical campaign carried out in the nearby Clyde Sea. Small copepods and larvae remained within the layers above the thermocline. Model organisms, programmed with particular behavioural patterns, were spaced at regular intervals (1/20° longitude × 1/30° latitude) in the model grid, which extended from 53 to 54.5°N and 4.5 to 6.4°W. The model was run over the months of April, May and June. Model simulations showed that the movement of model organisms followed one of four characteristic patterns: containment along the coast, advection to the north or south, stagnation in the centre of the gyre or circulation around the periphery of the gyre. The latter pattern was apparent even in April, when gyral circulation was not expected because of a lack of stratification in the water column. Thirty-day model runs in April, May and June showed that the number of organisms retained within the model grid varied between 23 and 49%. Those seeded close to the Irish coast had the highest probability of being retained within the model grid at the end of 90 days. DVM increased the probability of retention through improving the chances of organisms becoming entrained within the gyre circulation. This was especially true for Calanus spp., with those performing midnight sinking being the most likely to be retained out of any model organism. Meganyctiphanes showed comparatively lower levels of retention in deep regions, which suggests that they may have to swim against currents during certain phases of their DVM to avoid displacement. Overall, model results supported a number of hypotheses on the origin and fate of various taxa in the Irish Sea, as well as revealing some less expected distribution patterns

Midnight sinking behaviour in Calanus finmarchicus: a response to satiation or krill predation?

The vertical migration of Calanus finmarchicus and krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Thysanoessa raschii) was monitored during the summer of 1999 in the Clyde Sea using a combination of acoustic and net sampling methods. A moored 300 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) identified a sound scattering layer (SSL) that started to ascend to the surface during the last moments of daylight. Net samples showed that the SSL was mostly composed of krill. C. finmarchicus rose to the surface in the late afternoon, causing a small but detectable increase in backscatter that did not vary in time through the summer. The ascent of krill, by contrast, became earlier as day length decreased towards autumn. Net samples showed that the strong downward Doppler velocities following the rise of the SSL was caused by the descent of C. finmarchicus. The fact that this coordinated sinking of C. finmarchicus occurred earlier towards autumn, even though the time of ascent to surface remained constant, implies that the feeding ‘window’ diminished over the course of the season. Feeding conditions did not become significantly better during this same period, discounting satiation as a likely cause of descent. The close temporal coupling between the arrival of krill and the subsequent descent of C. finmarchicus from the surface suggests that midnight sinking in Calanus is a response to predation

Synthesis of poly(dimethylsilylene-co-diphenylsilylene) polymers as precursors for SiC ceramics

Silicon carbide ceramics, especially fibres, are being fabricated via polymeric precursors. Although such fibres are commercially available, there is a demand for improved performance particularly at elevated temperatures. A range of copolymers has been synthesized from the monomers, dimethyldichlorosilane and diphenyldichlorosilane, by a Wurtz reaction involving dechlorination using sodium metal in xylene. The products of reaction were characterised by a range of techniques, including gel permeation chromatography (GPC), infra-red spectroscopy (IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry (TG)