scholarly journals The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. e3001046
Author(s):  
Rebecca R. Helm
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Sargasso Sea ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Rivers And Lakes ◽  
Important Fish

Life on the ocean’s surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found therein. Organisms that live freely at the surface, termed “neuston,” include keystone organisms like the golden seaweed Sargassum that makes up the Sargasso Sea, floating barnacles, snails, nudibranchs, and cnidarians. Many ecologically and economically important fish species live as or rely upon neuston. Species at the surface are not distributed uniformly; the ocean’s surface harbors unique neustonic communities and ecoregions found at only certain latitudes and only in specific ocean basins. But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Despite the diversity and importance of the ocean’s surface in connecting disparate habitats, and the risks it faces, we know very little about neustonic life. This Essay will introduce you to the neuston, their connections to diverse habitats, the threats they face, and new opportunities for research and discovery at the air-sea interface.

scholarly journals Introduced marine species in Croatian waters (Eastern Adriatic Sea)

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. PECAREVIC ◽  
J. MIKUS ◽  
A. BRATOS CETINIC ◽  
J. DULCIC ◽  
M. CALIC
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Species ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Conservation Of Biodiversity

The Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea covers more than 35% of the total Croatian territory, which means that monitoring changes in marine ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity are of great importance. Following global changes, Croatia is experiencing increasing problems due to the introduction of new species that include aliens (due to aquaculture activities and shipping) and species from other Mediterranean subregions that are extending their geographic range. This work provides a checklist of introduced species in Croatian waters. A total of 113 species (15 phytoplankton, 16 zooplankton, 16 macroalgae, 44 zoobenthic and 22 fish species) have been recorded in the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea, of which 61 species are alien and 52 introduced, due to climate change.

Dissolved oxygen and temperature best predict deep-sea fish community structure in the Gulf of California with climate change implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. 159-180
Author(s):  
ND Gallo ◽  
M Beckwith ◽  
CL Wei ◽  
LA Levin ◽  
L Kuhnz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
Explained Variance

Natural gradient systems can be used to examine the vulnerability of deep-sea communities to climate change. The Gulf of California presents an ideal system for examining relationships between faunal patterns and environmental conditions of deep-sea communities because deep-sea conditions change from warm and oxygen-rich in the north to cold and severely hypoxic in the south. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) remotely operated vehicle (ROV) ‘Doc Ricketts’ was used to conduct seafloor video transects at depths of ~200-1400 m in the northern, central, and southern Gulf. The community composition, density, and diversity of demersal fish assemblages were compared to environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that climate-relevant variables (temperature, oxygen, and primary production) have more explanatory power than static variables (latitude, depth, and benthic substrate) in explaining variation in fish community structure. Temperature best explained variance in density, while oxygen best explained variance in diversity and community composition. Both density and diversity declined with decreasing oxygen, but diversity declined at a higher oxygen threshold (~7 µmol kg-1). Remarkably, high-density fish communities were observed living under suboxic conditions (<5 µmol kg-1). Using an Earth systems global climate model forced under an RCP8.5 scenario, we found that by 2081-2100, the entire Gulf of California seafloor is expected to experience a mean temperature increase of 1.08 ± 1.07°C and modest deoxygenation. The projected changes in temperature and oxygen are expected to be accompanied by reduced diversity and related changes in deep-sea demersal fish communities.

scholarly journals Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals: The Unexplored Role of Marine Sessile Taxa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 580
Author(s):  
Camilla Roveta ◽  
Anna Annibaldi ◽  
Afghan Afghan ◽  
Barbara Calcinai ◽  
Cristina Gioia Di Camillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
Current Review ◽  
European Water ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Sessile Organisms

Coastal areas are known to receive significant anthropogenic inputs, mainly deriving from metropolitan areas, industries, and activities related to tourism. Among these inputs, some trace elements are listed as priority pollutants in the European Water Framework Directive, due to their ability to bioaccumulate in organisms. Many studies have been conducted on heavy metals (HMs) accumulation and on their possible effects on different edible marine species. While the most studied sessile organisms are bivalves, in the current review, we focus our attention on other sessile taxa (sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, polychaetes, cirripeds, and tunicates), proposed as bioindicators in coastal shallow waters. Although their potential as bioindicator tools has been repeatedly highlighted in the literature, these organisms are still poorly investigated and considered for monitoring. In this context, we analyze the available literature about this topic, in order to summarize the current knowledge and identify possible applications of these organisms in a bioremediation scenario.

scholarly journals Advances in Egyptian Mediterranean Coast Climate Change Monitoring

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1870
Author(s):  
Matteo Gentilucci ◽  
Abdelraouf A. Moustafa ◽  
Fagr Kh. Abdel-Gawad ◽  
Samira R. Mansour ◽  
Maria Rosaria Coppola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Homogeneity Test ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Lessepsian Species

This paper characterizes non-indigenous fish species (NIS) and analyses both atmospheric and sea surface temperatures for the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1991 to 2020, in relation to previous reports in the same areas. Taxonomical characterization depicts 47 NIS from the Suez Canal (Lessepsian/alien) and 5 from the Atlantic provenance. GenBank accession number of the NIS mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase 1, reproductive and commercial biodata, and a schematic Inkscape drawing for the most harmful Lessepsian species were reported. For sea surface temperatures (SST), an increase of 1.2 °C to 1.6 °C was observed using GIS software. The lack of linear correlation between annual air temperature and annual SST at the same detection points (Pearson r) could suggest a difference in submarine currents, whereas the Pettitt homogeneity test highlights a temperature breakpoint in 2005–2006 that may have favoured the settlement of non-indigenous fauna in the coastal sites of Damiette, El Arish, El Hammam, Alexandria, El Alamain, and Mersa Matruh, while there seems to be a breakpoint present in 2001 for El Sallum. This assessment of climate trends is in good agreement with the previous sightings of non-native fish species. New insights into the assessment of Egyptian coastal climate change are discussed.

The Reproductive Biology of Ophiacantha Bidentata (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) From The Rockall Trough

1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Tyler ◽  
J. D. Gage
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Larval Stage ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Direct Development ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Rockall Trough

INTRODUCTIONOphiacantha bidentata (Retzius) is a widespread arctic-boreal ophiuroid with a circumpolar distribution in the shallow waters of the Arctic seas and penetrating into the deep sea of the.North Atlantic and North Pacific (Mortensen, 1927, 1933a; D'yakonov, 1954). Early observations of this species were confined to defining zoogeo-graphical and taxonomic criteria including the separation of deep water specimens as the variety fraterna (Farran, 1912; Grieg, 1921; Mortensen, 1933a). Mortensen (1910) and Thorson (1936, pp. 18–26) noted the large eggs (o.8 mm diameter) in specimens from Greenland and Thorson (1936) proposed that this species had ‘big eggs rich in yolk, shed directly into the sea. Much reduced larval stage or direct development’. This evidence is supported by observations of O. bidentata from the White and Barents Seas (Semenova, Mileikovsky & Nesis, 1964; Kaufman, 1974)..

scholarly journals An experimental assessment of social tolerance and den ecology in a high-density octopus population

2021 ◽  
Vol 168 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan A. O’Brien ◽  
Michelle L. Taylor ◽  
Heather D. Masonjones ◽  
Philipp H. Boersch-Supan ◽  
Owen R. O’Shea
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
High Density ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
High Population Density ◽  
Social Tolerance ◽  
Potential Prey ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
The Social ◽  
Den Use

AbstractLong held notions of the universally asocial octopus are being challenged due to the identification of high-density and interacting octopus populations in Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the deep sea. This study experimentally assessed the social tolerance and presence of potential prey items of Caribbean reef octopus, Octopus briareus, in a tropical marine lake (25°21′40″N, 76°30′40″W) on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas, by deploying artificial dens in multi-den groups or ‘units’ in the months of May and June 2019. Fifteen octopus were observed occupying dens (n = 100), resulting in 13 den units being occupied (n = 40). Two examples of adjacent occupation within a single den unit were identified but with zero examples of cohabitation/den sharing. Ecological models showed den and den unit occupation was predicted to increase with depth and differ between sites. Octopus also displayed no preference for isolated or communal units but preferred isolated dens over dens adjacent to others. Additionally, 47 % of occupied dens contained bivalve or crustacean items with no epifauna on their interior surface. The lack of epifauna suggests that these items have been recently ‘cleaned’ by occupying octopus and so represent likely prey. This study presents evidence of possible antisocial den use by O. briareus, a modification of the default ‘asocial’ ignoring of conspecifics typically attributed to octopus. This is likely in response to the high population density and may imply behavioural plasticity, making this system appropriate for further scrutiny as a research location on the influence of large, insular environments on marine species.

Whale falls, multiple colonisations of the deep, and the phylogeny of Hesionidae (Annelida)

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindi Summers ◽  
Fredrik Pleijel ◽  
Greg W. Rouse
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Maximum Likelihood ◽  
16S Rrna ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
18S Rrna ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
28S Rrna ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome ◽  
New Members

Phylogenetic relationships within Hesionidae Grube, 1850 are assessed via maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA) data. The analyses are based on 42 hesionid species; six of these being new species that are described here. The new species, all from deep (>200 m depth) benthic environments (including whale falls) in the eastern Pacific, are Gyptis shannonae, sp. nov., Neogyptis julii, sp. nov., Sirsoe sirikos, sp. nov., Vrijenhoekia ketea, sp. nov., Vrijenhoekia falenothiras, sp. nov., and Vrijenhoekia ahabi, sp. nov. The molecular divergence among the new members of Vrijenhoekia is pronounced enough to consider them cryptic species, even though we cannot distinguish among them morphologically. Our results also showed that the subfamily Hesioninae Grube, 1850, as traditionally delineated, was paraphyletic. We thus restrict Hesioninae to include only Hesionini Grube, 1850 and refer the remaining members to Psamathinae Pleijel, 1998. The present study increases the number of hesionid species associated with whale falls from one to six and markedly increases the number of described deep-sea hesionid taxa. There appear to have been multiple colonisations of the deep sea from shallow waters by hesionids, though further sampling is warranted.

Microplastic Occurrence in Deep-Sea Fish Species Alepocephalus Bairdii and Coryphaenoides Rupestris from the Porcupine Bank (North Atlantic)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucía Soliño ◽  
Leticia Vidal-Liñán ◽  
Patricia Pérez-Pérez ◽  
Salvador García-Barcelona ◽  
Francisco Baldó ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Sea Fish

Five new deep-sea species of nudibranchs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Cladobranchia) from the Northeast Pacific

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4526 (4) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
ÁNGEL VALDÉS ◽  
LONNY LUNDSTEN ◽  
NERIDA G. WILSON
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Species ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
Invertebrate Community ◽  
Nuclear Markers ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
Northeastern Pacific ◽  
System Information

Increased exploration of northeastern Pacific deep-sea habitats has revealed a diverse and often poorly-known invertebrate community, including a number of undescribed species of nudibranchs studied herein. We used morphology to distinguish several new species from their congeners, and generated data where possible for mitochondrial (COI, 16S) and nuclear markers (H3) to place them in a phylogenetic context. We described here Tritonia nigritigris sp. nov., Dendronotus claguei sp. nov., Ziminella vrijenhoeki sp. nov., Cuthona methana sp. nov., Aeolidia libitinaria sp. nov. and redescribed Zeusia herculea (Bergh, 1894). Another species of Tritonia is described but not named due to the absence of reproductive system information. Although there are difficulties in collection from deep-sea habitats, only two of our new species are known from single specimens. As with many other deep-sea regions, we expect the number of new species from this region to increase with further exploration. Because the deep regions of the northeast Pacific are particularly vulnerable to the effects of decreasing oxygenation due to climate change, we consider that documenting this fauna has some level of urgency. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document