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1.
Here we report the first observations of loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta preying on a conspicuous molluscan invader, the rapa whelk Rapana venosa. An average number of 136 opercula were found in stomach contents of five turtles, the curved carapace length ranging in from 51 to 112 cm. No other alimentary items were found in the turtles analyzed. We suggest that the rapa whelk may constitute up to 100% of the diet for immature and mature loggerheads in the Río de la Plata estuary (Uruguay), highlighting the plastic nature of the foraging behavior of loggerheads.  相似文献   

2.
The loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, is a highly migratory species with a complex life cycle that involves a series of ontogenetic habitat shifts and migrations. Understanding the links amongst nesting populations and foraging habitats is essential for the effective management of the species. Here we used mixed stock analysis to examine the natal origin of loggerhead turtles foraging on the North African continental shelf off Tunisia, one of the most important Mediterranean neritic habitats. An 815‐bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region was sequenced from 107 individuals sampled from 2007 to 2009. No temporal variation in haplotype frequencies was detected. Juveniles (n = 87) and adults (n = 23) exhibited weak but significant genetic differentiation that resulted in different stock compositions. Libya was the main source population but the proportion of turtles from this rookery was higher in adults (median = 80%) than in juveniles (median = 35%). Western Greece was the second most important contributing population. Juvenile stock composition derived from mixed stock analysis and the estimates produced by numerical simulation of hatchling dispersion in the Mediterranean Sea were significantly correlated, supporting the recent theory that loggerheads imprint on possible future neritic habitats during the initial phase of their life. This association was not significant for adults, suggesting that other factors contribute to shaping their distribution. Overall, our results show that human activities on the South Tunisian continental shelf pose an immediate threat to the survival of the Libyan rookery.  相似文献   

3.
Recurrent climate‐induced mass mortality episodes have been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea over the past 15 years, affecting rocky benthic communities. In this study, we provide for the first time a report on the annual mortality events of benthic sessile invertebrates occurring in the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea. Over the course of 14 consecutive years, we studied the sea temperature gradient to a depth of 40 m and found an abnormal summer warming trend and an increased frequency of above‐average temperatures. Mortality events were recorded in the summers of 10 observed years, in particular in 2009, when the highest mortality rates were recorded. Late in summer 2009, extensive mass mortality of sessile invertebrates was observed in the entire Eastern Adriatic Sea. We performed an analysis of selected target benthic species associated with mass mortality events with inter‐regional differences in hydrological and temperature conditions. We were able to characterize the mortality event by studying five areas covering the northern, central and southern regions of the Eastern Adriatic Sea. The degree of impact on each study area was quantified at 28 sites by estimating the proportion of affected target species. According to the obtained data, the northern sites (Cres area) were the least affected, whereas sites in the Central and Southern Adriatic [Tela??ica and Lastovo Nature Parks, Mljet National Park (NP)] displayed the highest impact. In summer 2009, sea surface temperatures reached values of 28 °C in the Cres area and 30 °C in Mljet NP. These thermal conditions were concomitant with moderate to severe mass mortalities of benthic populations. Mass mortality events reached depths of 45 m in most parts of the affected areas. Amongst studied species, the scleractinian coral and gorgonian populations suffered the most extensive damage during the mass mortality events.  相似文献   

4.
Understanding the role that consumers play in an ecosystem requires knowledge about food selection and intake rates. However, such basic data are often difficult to obtain, particularly for marine animals that are not easy to observe. To overcome this problem, a beak movement sensor was employed on a free‐ranging loggerhead turtle in a neritic foraging habitat at the Domitian littoral (SW Italy). In combination with gastrointestinal content analysis from six turtles found dead in the same area we sought to identify which beak movement patterns were associated with which prey type, and to quantify the ingestion of the various prey types. Brachyuran crabs (100% occurrence), in particular Liocarcinus vernalis, and small molluscs (66% occurrence) were found most frequently in the stomach and intestine of the turtles. Beak movements revealed average ingestion rates of (mean ± SE) 0.27 ± 0.13 food items per minute and that feeding occurred predominantly during dives >4 m and during early morning and evening. Interestingly, the time spent feeding amounted to only 2.2% of the total observation time, whereas feeding‐associated dives added up to just above 10% of the total time. We thus established that loggerhead turtles in this area are specialised on brachyuran crabs, on which they prey with high success during the short time dedicated to foraging. This information strengthens our knowledge about turtle–prey and turtle–habitat interactions, which are essential data to delineate the role that turtles play in this and similar marine ecosystems. Moreover, since the same area is also intensively used by the regional bottom trawl fishery, our results have important conservation implications, because they clearly show the time of day and water depths for which fishing activity should be regulated to reduce the number of turtles that are currently being incidentally caught in this area.  相似文献   

5.
Insular marine biotas are often richer in faunal diversity than those from the open sea in the same geographical region. The existence of particular island effects were tested under polar conditions by comparing infaunal benthic assemblages on Peter I Island with those of similar latitudes in the open ocean at the Bellingshausen Sea and also from the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Sampling was carried out aboard the R/V Hespérides during the expedition named BENTART-2003 from 24 January to 3 March 2003. Benthic samples were collected at 18 stations ranging from 90 to 2 044 m depth, using an USNEL-type box corer (BC) dredge. Representatives of 32 higher taxa of invertebrates were found. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed various patterns in the data. First, significant differences in polychaete abundance were detected between the stations located in the open sea and the remaining sites (island plus mainland sites). Bivalve abundances were also distinct between island and mainland sampling sites. Sediment columns taken from the island seafloor exhibited the highest rate of bioturbation by the infauna. These findings confirm the model that islands develop distinct assemblages characterized by the enhancement of the benthic communities even in cold waters. Several abiotic factors were measured simultaneously at the seafloor and along the water column to investigate faunal distribution patterns. Significant correlations were found between the benthic assemblages and a combination of two environmental variables: "island effect" (measured as a categorical variable) and the redox state of sediments. Richer and more complex benthic assemblages were found in Peter I Island’s sea bottom, whereas the more depauperate bottoms remained in the open sea.  相似文献   

6.
We used Argos‐linked Fastloc‐Global Positioning System (Argos‐linked Fastloc‐GPS) satellite tags to investigate how loggerhead sea turtles use neritic foraging habitats at multiple scales. Out of 24 turtles, six individuals used more than one foraging site, with all sites being separated by >25 km. These six individuals used up to four sites, remaining at each site for a mean of 150 days and returning to the same site a minimum of 52 days later. The other 18 turtles remained in a single site. The area within sites was not used uniformly, with 15 out of 24 turtles exhibiting complex movement patterns within and amongst up to five focal patches, which were typically 0.1–5.0 km apart within a single site. Movements between sites and patches might sometimes have reflected overwintering behaviour; however, similar movement patterns occurred at multiple times of the year, suggesting other factors were also involved. Use of multiple sites and patches might be driven by differences in resource availability, such as food and/or night‐time refuges, competition, or exploratory movement to investigate or locate alternative patches. We confirmed competition via direct visual observations of aggressive interactions between individuals at one foraging patch. Our results illustrate the importance of standardizing data to the same number of locations per day and night to accurately delineate key areas used by turtles or for evidence‐based marine protected area planning.  相似文献   

7.
Tidal conditions differently influence inter‐tidal organisms in terms of general physiological and metabolic responses. In this study we investigated the morphological response in shells of Mytilus galloprovincialis native to different micro‐tidal coastal environments in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Our purpose was to highlight the ecophenotypic variability across tidal levels and to elucidate how tidal currents and waves produced by anthropogenic activities may play a part in modulating shell morphology. Three sampling sites were selected: an open‐sea area 15 km off‐shore and two sites within the lagoon of Venice, the first near one of its three inlets, and the other one in the proximity of Venice city centre. At each sampling site, organisms were seasonally collected at different depths within their vertical zonation, either in the inter‐tidal zone – i.e. at both the highest and lowest tide zonation limits, and subtidally. The mussel shells were analysed by investigation of their morphometric relationships (height/length and width/length ratios) and by elliptic Fourier analysis of the shell contours. Shell thickness and condition index were also evaluated for a better comprehension of energy allocation/partitioning. Estimates based on long‐term measurements, visual observation, wind statistics and wave growth laws allowed an evaluation of the forces acting on shells. At the open‐sea site, the observed phenotypic variability of both shell shape and thickness was clearly related to the tidal vertical zonation. At the two lagoon sites, the currents generated by tidal flow through the inlet and the waves caused by the frequent passage of boats influenced both shell shape and thickness. A trade‐off between protection and growth was apparent along the tide gradient, as emphasized by the differences in the partitioning and allocation of energy between shell and flesh production.  相似文献   

8.
Shark nets were established along the KwaZulu-Natal coast in 1952 to protect bathers against shark encounters. Sea turtle bycatch data for the period 1981–2008 in these shark nets indicated that loggerheads Caretta caretta were caught most frequently at 40.9 y–1 or 1.11 km-net–1 y–1, followed by green turtles Chelonia mydas at 0.32 km-net–1 y–1 and leatherbacks Dermochelys coriacea at 0.14 km-net–1 y–1. Catch rate of loggerheads increased throughout the study period, and was positively correlated with the increase in the number of nesting females from the recovering population in Maputaland, South Africa (r = 0.52, p < 0.05, n = 28). This increase is ascribed to successful nest conservation. Leatherback bycatch remained stable, following their nesting trends, although they receive similar conservation efforts on nesting beaches as loggerheads. Bycatch of green turtles, although not a nesting species in South Africa, was stable over time. Mortality varied between species (from 53.2% to 70.6%) with loggerheads being the most hardy, followed by leatherbacks and green turtles. Few hawksbills Eretmochelys imbricata and olive ridleys Lepidochelys olivacea were caught in the shark nets. Fewer sea turtles are caught by shark nets than by longlines and because the nesting populations of loggerheads, green turtles and leatherbacks are either stable or increasing in the South-West Indian Ocean, shark net bycatch was considered negligible and sustainable.  相似文献   

9.
南海东北部末次冰期以来的沉积环境演变   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
利用南海东北部上陆坡处所取的D孔柱样进行硅藻分析,结合粒度与碎屑矿物分析结果,探讨该海域末次冰期以来沉积环境演变过程.结果表明：粒度与硅藻分析结果较为吻合,共同显示D孔柱样可分为上下两层.上表层（0～2 cm）的砂质沉积层为冰后期海进过程改造的晚更新世残留沉积层,即变余沉积;下层（2～130 cm）主要是末次冰期形成的浅海沉积.整个柱样可反映出海洋同位素MIS 4期海退至MIS 3期海进与MIS 2期海退至冰后期海进的沉积变化韵律.  相似文献   

10.
The rocky outcrops irregularly scattered in the sandy‐muddy sea bed of the Northern Adriatic, formed by a base rock and a superimposed concretion of vegetal and animal organisms, are considered an infralittoral coralligenous habitat, according to the most recent definition. In the last four decades, research has mainly concentrated on their geology because of the question of the origin of the base rock – very similar to beachrock – which has only recently been attributed to sedimentary cementation induced by methane seeps. Studies on their macrobenthic assemblages have also been published recently, but true comparisons among them are difficult because they mostly refer only to a few selected phyla or to short‐term observations. Very few papers deal with the whole of the animal and plant communities, including all taxonomic groups and the most important environmental variables. On the basis of the literature data concerning several outcrops in the Gulf of Venice, we suggest that the Adriatic reefs differ slightly from the classic deeper coralligenous assemblages around the Mediterranean coast because they have smaller concretions of algae builders. We also suggest that the Northern Adriatic coralligenous reefs are younger than the other reefs occurring in the Mediterranean Sea.  相似文献   

11.
渤海东侧海岸带黄土中的放射虫   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
阐述了海岸带黄土中放射虫的种类及组合特征，并对其来源进行了探讨。 初步认为：放射虫最初是在间冰期高海面时被黄海暖流带入渤海的，后来在冰期低 海面时，裸露的海底受强大的西北向低空气流作用，致使一些放射虫壳体伴随沙尘 而沉降到附近海岸黄土之中。  相似文献   

12.
Biomass and respiration rates of bacteria, nematodes and macrobenthos were estimated in relation to the deposition of the spring phytoplankton bloom at two contrasting sites in the Southern North Sea: one with fine‐grained sediment close to the coastline and another with highly permeable sediments. Sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) was also measured. Bacterial biomass was relatively similar at both stations, whereas nematode and macrobenthic biomass were higher in fine‐grained sediment. In fine sediments, bacterial biomass increased quickly after deposition of the phytoplankton bloom, whereas the response of nematodes and macrobenthos was delayed. In coarser sediments, nematodes and macrobenthos also showed a fast response in terms of density and biomass. Respiration in permeable sediments was mainly dominated by bacteria at all periods of the year. Hence, nematode and macrobenthic respiration did not contribute strongly to SCOC. This is in contrast to the patterns observed in finer sediments, where both macrofauna and nematodes were important oxygen consumers as well. Macrobenthos contributed more to total SCOC than did nematodes in winter. However, shortly after the arrival of phytodetritus at the sea floor, nematodes and macrobenthos contributed equally to the total SCOC, indicating that all benthic size classes should be taken into account when investigating marine benthic respiration rates.  相似文献   

13.
According to bioassay studies and high dissolved nutrient N/P ratios in the seawater column, phosphorus (P) is thought to control marine productivity in the northern Adriatic Sea. P in near-shore marine sediments of the Gulf of Trieste, the northernmost part of the Adriatic Sea, was investigated using pore water P distributions, and benthic P flux studies under oxic and anoxic conditions. The data show that P regeneration is up to three-fold more extensive in sediments overlain by oxygen-depleted waters and proceeds in parallel with Fe and Mn enhanced benthic fluxes. It appears from the incubation experiments that degradation of sedimentary organic matter is the main contribution to the flux of P at the sediment–water interface, while the release of phosphate adsorbed on the iron oxide surface is of minor importance.It appears that about 50% of P in the Gulf of Trieste is retained within in the sediments, probably bonded to clay minerals and carbonate grains or precipitated as fluoroapatite. In these sediments total P (Ptot) is preserved preferentially over organic C (Corg). P regenerated from surficial sediments contributes about 1/3 of the P that is assimilated by benthic microalgae. The phytoplankton P requirement should be entirely supplied from fresh-water sources. These results suggest that oxygen depletion in coastal areas caused by eutrophication enhances P regeneration from sediments, providing the additional P necessary for increased biological productivity. The development of anoxic bottom waters in coastal areas enhances the recycling of P, exacerbating the nutrient requirement in the area. A geochemical record of P burial in a longer sedimentary sequence revealed an increasing trend of Ptot and organic P (Porg) contents occurring approximately 50 years BP (after 1950), probably due to increasing use of inorganic fertilizers and detergents in the area.  相似文献   

14.
The Mediterranean endemic Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) is a colonial scleractinian coral belonging to the family Faviidae and the only zooxanthellate coral from Mediterranean whose colonies may fuse in reef‐like structures (hermatypic). Recent surveys are focused on three locations where banks occur in the Adriatic Sea (Croatia): near Prvi? Island in the northern Adriatic, near Pag Island in the central Adriatic and in Veliko jezero (Mljet National Park) in the southern Adriatic. The C. caespitosa bank in Veliko jezero covers an area more than 650 m2 and is thus the largest bank of C. caespitosa found to date. The strong sea currents, which occur as a result of tidal exchange in the channel, appear to favour the growth of the bank. The goal of the study was to present the influence of major environmental factors upon the build‐up process of the coral bank. Biometrical parameters in the C. caespitosa colonies like diameter of the calyces, polyp ash free dry weight (AFDW), corallite linear growth rate and index of sphericity were investigated and compared from these three locations. The morphology of coral banks from the Adriatic Sea and the disposition of the biometrical values are affected by the sea currents, temperature and sedimentation.  相似文献   

15.
水层-底栖耦合生态动力学研究的某些进展   总被引：9，自引：3，他引：6  
概述浅海生态系的水层系统与底栖系统耦合的基本原理,着重介绍有机质沉降动力学、底栖生态系统对有机质的响应、生物沉降和侧向平流、生物扰动和沉积物再悬浮研究的进展,结语中提出应予优先支持研究的科学问题。  相似文献   

16.
A quantitative model of the trophic network of Northern Adriatic Sea marine ecosystem during the 1990s has been constructed, with the goal of analysing its trophic structure, identifying the key trophic groups and assessing the anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystem using the Ecopath modelling protocol. The Northern Adriatic Sea is an eutrophic, shallow basin, and one of the most heavily fished areas in the Mediterranean Sea. The network aggregation into discrete trophic levels sensu Lindeman shows that low trophic levels dominate biomass and energy flows, with 40% of the total system throughput flowing out from trophic level 2. Instead, upper trophic levels appear bottom-up controlled, highly depleted and not exerting any control on the trophic network, as shown by mixed trophic impact-based analyses. Microbial loop is comparable to grazing with respect to the magnitude of flows involved, as 66% of the trophic network flows originate from detritus, which is mainly consumed by bacteria. Key trophic groups are plankton groups, macro-crustaceans and detritus, and other r-selected organisms like squids and small pelagics, which have a great influence on the ecosystem. In particular, zooplankton acts as a bottleneck for energy flows, limiting the energy from the low trophic levels effectively reaching the upper food web. The high pelagic production caused by eutrophication sustains high fishery landings and impressive discard quantities, as well as the benthic compartment. Overall, the ecosystem appears quite productive and in a stressed and developmental status. Model results and comparisons with few existing historical data suggest that the low maturity and stressed state of the Northern Adriatic Sea are not only due to natural characteristics, but mainly to anthropogenic pressures.  相似文献   

17.
Twelve washover deposits were cored on the west-central Gulf Coast of Florida to provide data to permit development of a model to help identify washover facies in the stratigraphic record. Typical modern washover stratigraphy displays landward-dipping plane beds comprised of well-sorted sand with distinct laminae of shells and heavy minerals. Five subfacies are delineated which show variations in composition, texture, and bioturbation throughout the washover facies. These subfacies represent differences in flow conditions during overwash, position relative to sea level, and variable degrees of reworking after deposition. Three shell assemblages aid in identification of washover deposits. Backbarrier sediments composed of shoreface/open water species or mixed shoreface/backbarrier species may potentially be washover in origin. Sediments with purely backbarrier/quiet water shell species are likely to have been deposited independently of washover activity. Examination of washover deposits of differing ages reveals that preservation of washover stratigraphy is not exclusively a function of time. Reworking of small-scale stratification can occur in as short as a decade; however, this same stratification was found to be preserved in deposits several hundred years old. Destruction of original washover signatures is related to the position of the deposits relative to sea level, and the rate and depth of burial. Even after the destruction of small-scale stratigraphic features, washover deposits may still be identified as such due to their texture, composition, and shell assemblages. Key features in recognizing the facies after bioturbation and reworking are: (1) the presence of clean sand in otherwise muddy backbarrier sediments, (2) the landward thinning of the facies, and (3) the presence of shoreface shells or mixed shoreface/backbarrier shells on landward portions of the barrier island system. If reworking is severe and/or there are limited subsurface data, distinguishing washovers from genetically similar deposits (e.g. flood tidal deltas and spillover deposits) in the stratigraphic record is difficult and when considered out of stratigraphic context may not be recognizable.  相似文献   

18.
Despite being endangered internationally and protected nationally, little consideration has been given to the occurrence of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in New Zealand. New Zealand lies on the southern boundary of the distributional range of green turtles in the southwestern Pacific, with individuals found within these waters historically considered to be occasional visitors or stragglers incidentally carried by ocean currents. However, the present work shows that green turtles are present year round in New Zealand’s northern waters (c. 34°–38° S). A review of sighting, stranding and incidental capture data collected between 1895 and 2013 illustrate New Zealand’s green turtle population comprises post-pelagic immature juveniles to large subadults. The female:male sex ratio of 1.7:1 is similar to those reported from warm temperate foraging grounds in eastern Australia. A subsample of new recruits indicates green turtles recruit to neritic habitats at approximately 40.8?cm curved carapace length. This study suggests that New Zealand’s neritic habitats constitute a transitional developmental ground for post-pelagic immature green turtles. We observed an exponential increase in the number of documented records over time, though whether this is due to increased numbers of turtles or increased reporting rates, or both, is unclear and warrants further investigation. More broadly, this work provides a baseline understanding of the ecology of green turtles at the edge of their range, providing opportunities to investigate regional niche modelling and connectivity of this highly mobile species, while also monitoring broad-scale effects of climate-induced environmental change.  相似文献   

19.
The Po River runoff strongly affects the oceanographic and ecological characteristics of the Northern Adriatic Sea. Catalysed reported deposition ‐ fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD‐FISH) analysis was employed to assess how the composition of the coastal bacterioplankton community is influenced by the river runoff in two different seasons (spring and autumn). Samples were collected from the water column along a coastal–offshore transect in the Northern Adriatic Sea at different depths. Four clone libraries were then constructed from coastal (0 m) and offshore waters (?65 m). Higher abundances of bacteria were recorded in coastal waters as compared with the offshore samples. This result was mainly due to the trophic state of the water column, and it was related to salinity. Particularly, Actinobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were affected by the riverine inputs, whereas Bacteroidetes and Alphaproteobacteria showed only minor responses. This was particularly clear in the autumn sample, in which a clear difference between the coastal and the offshore samples was found due to a strong influence of the less saline river water with high nutrient concentrations. Analysis of 205 partial length 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated a high diversity with the dominance of Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria mainly affiliated to coastal and marine bacterioplankton clades. Actinobacteria were also detected and, together with Gammaproteobacteria, strongly follow the freshwater intrusion. Overall, our results indicate that the seasonal difference in the Po River discharge greatly affects the bacterioplankton community. In spring we observed a smooth transition from coastal to open‐sea conditions owing to the more superficial freshwater plume. In autumn the deeper freshwater intrusion in the coastal site and thermal stratification offshore resulted in a marked difference between the coastal and offshore microbial communities.  相似文献   

20.
Based upon the composition of the dominant species of benthic foraminifers in the bottom sediments sampled at 50 sampling stations in the White Sea, their six assemblages (communities) were defined and mapped. The ranges of these communities depend on the environmental factors determined by the bathymetric, latitudinal, and circum-continental sea zonalities, the sea currents, the bottom upwellings, the continental runoff, the productivity of the waters, and the CaCO3 content in the near-bottom water layers and bottom sediments.  相似文献   

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