Search results for "Water"

Epifaunal and infaunal responses to submarine mine tailings in a Norwegian fjord.

2019

Abstract Disposal of mine tailings in marine shallow water ecosystems represents an environmental challenge, and the present paper reports results from a field study in Fraenfjorden, Norway, which is subject to such disposal. Structural and functional responses of benthic infauna and epifauna were investigated along a gradient from heavy tailings deposition to reference conditions. The tailings clearly impacted the faunal composition, with lowered species number close to the outfall. Total abundance of infauna increased in the most impacted area due to dominance of opportunistic species, whereas the epifauna was reduced and represented by a few scattered specimens only. In the most impacted…

Planktivorous vendace (Coregonus albula ) utilise algae-derived fatty acids for biomass increase and lipid deposition

2017

Spatial and seasonal variation in the abundance and composition of phytoplankton and other basal resources (bacteria, terrestrial detritus) influence the availability of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for upper trophic levels in lake food webs. We studied accumulation, composition and content of fatty acids in planktivorous vendace (Coregonus albula) muscle tissue during the summer feeding period (May to late September) in six boreal lakes. Vendace muscle fatty acid content increased from ~17.7 mg/g DW to ~28.1 mg/g DW from spring to summer, corresponding to a ~59% increase in total fatty acids. PUFA accounted for 45%–65% of all fatty acids, and the most abundant fatty acid wa…

Variability in δ13C values between individual Daphnia ephippia: Implications for palaeo-studies

2018

The stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13 C value) of Daphnia spp. resting egg shells (ephippia) provides information on past changes in Daphnia diet. Measurements are typically performed on samples of _20 ephippia, which obscures the range of values associated with individual ephippia. Using a recently developed laser ablation-based technique, we perform multiple δ13 C analyses on individual ephippia, which show a high degree of reproducibility (standard deviations 0.1e0.5‰). We further measured δ13 C values of 13 ephippia from surface sediments of three Swiss lakes. In the well-oxygenated lake with low methane concentrations, δ13 C values are close to values typical for algae (_31.4‰) and the …

Ultraviolet radiation exposure of a high arctic lake in Svalbard during the Holocene

2014

Long-term fluctuations in lake-water optical properties were examined using a Holocene sediment sequence and multi-proxy palaeolimnological approach in Lake Einstaken, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. UV-absorbance of sedimentary cladoceran remains provided information on underwater UV exposure and changes in lake-catchment coupling processes were inferred from sediment geochemistry. In addition, aquatic community succession was used as an indicator for lake-water bio-optical properties and a Holocene record of sun activity (sunspots) was utilized to evaluate long-term solar forcing. The results indicated that the UV-absorbance of cladoceran remains was highest (i.e. maximum UV-induced pigmentatio…

DNA barcoding the phyllosoma of Scyllarides squammosus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda: Achelata: Scyllaridae)

2016

Scyllarides has the largest number of species with commercial importance within the Scyllaridae family. As for other achelate lobsters, however, little is known of the unique long-lived planktonic phyllosoma stages of any of these tropical and temperate species. Recently, a large and diverse collection of Scyllaridae phyllosoma, compiled from cruises along the Coral Sea and spanning several years, has been analysed. Molecular evidence from DNA-barcoding and phylogenetic analyses is provided here on the identity of S. squammosus phyllosoma larvae, including stages that were previously undescribed or poorly known. As a consequence, the growth and morphological changes that occur during the mi…

Synthesis of habitat restoration impacts on young-of-the-year salmonids in boreal rivers

2019

River restoration offers the potential to enhance biological integrity, often measured as fish population changes. We used a meta-analytical approach to synthesize density responses to in-stream habitat restoration by young-of-the year (YOY) brown trout and Atlantic salmon in 28 rivers (overall 32 restoration projects) in Finland. We also examined which local and watershed-scale factors most influenced restoration success. Finally, we conducted an expert survey to obtain an independent estimate of a sufficient density enhancement for restoration to be considered successful. Despite strong context-dependency, habitat restoration had an overall positive effect on YOY salmonid density. When co…

2018

Optimized Application of Biome-BGC for Modeling the Daily GPP of Natural Vegetation Over Peninsular Spain

2018

A methodology for improving the application of Biome-BGC in peninsular Spain was developed focusing on the optimization of the rooting depth (zroot), which is not available for the study area on a spatially distributed basis. The optimal zroot was identified by comparing daily gross primary production (GPP) simulations with varying zroot to GPP estimations from a production efficiency model previously optimized for and validated in the study area. The methodology was first tested in four eddy covariance (EC) sites representative of Mediterranean ecosystems and next applied at a regional scale to the whole study area. As a result, daily GPP simulated maps for the 2005-2012 period and an opti…

Iodine emissions from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea

2012

Iodine compounds were measured above, below and within the sea ice of the Weddell Sea during a cruise in 2009, to make progress in elucidating the mechanism of local enhancement and volatilisation of iodine. I<sub>2</sub> mixing ratios of up to 12.4 pptv were measured 10 m above the sea ice, and up to 31 pptv was observed above surface snow on the nearby Brunt Ice Shelf – large amounts. Atmospheric IO of up to 7 pptv was measured from the ship, and the average sum of HOI and ICl was 1.9 pptv. These measurements confirm the Weddell Sea as an iodine hotspot. Average atmospheric concentrations of CH<sub>3</sub>I, C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>I, CH&l…

Primary production calculations for sea ice from bio-optical observations in the Baltic Sea

2016

Abstract Bio-optics is a powerful approach for estimating photosynthesis rates, but has seldom been applied to sea ice, where measuring photosynthesis is a challenge. We measured absorption coefficients of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), algae, and non-algal particles along with solar radiation, albedo and transmittance at four sea-ice stations in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. This unique compilation of optical and biological data for Baltic Sea ice was used to build a radiative transfer model describing the light field and the light absorption by algae in 1-cm increments. The maximum quantum yields and photoadaptation of photosynthesis were determined from 14C-incorporatio…